F 

/ I 






Semi-Centennial 



OF 



The City of Utica, 



MARCH 1ST, 1882, 



FIRST ANNUAL SUPPER 



OF 



i 



The Half Century Club, 



MARCH 2D, 1882. 



PUBLISHED BY 
THE ONEIDA HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 



UTICA, N. Y. 

CURTISS & CHILDS, PRINTERS, 167 GENESEE ST. 

MDCCCLXXXII. 



^HHsmB 



m 



\*ii '/^siii^i 




FIRST MAYDR, 



ARTOT.PE, E. SienSTAO'' N. 



Semi-Centennial 



OF 



The City of Utica, 



MARCH 1ST, 1882, 



AND 



FIRST ANNUAL SUPPER 



The Half Century Club, 



MARCH 2D, 1882. 



PUBLISHED BY 
THE OiNEIDA HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 



UTICA, N. Y. 

CURTISS & CHILDS, PRINTERS, 167 GENESEE ST. 
MDCCCLXXXII. 






By transfer. 
JUN 3 )910 



Proceedings of Semi-Centennial, 



The Charter of the City of Utica was adopted 
February 13, 1832, and by its provisions it went into 
effect on the first day of March. The anniversary of 
the fiftieth year from its organization, it was thought 
by many of its citizens should be commemorated by 
an appropriate ])ublic observ^ance in which former 
residents should be invited to participate. The ar- 
rangements for such observance were assumed by the 
Oneida Historical Society; xvhic^h' at its meeting, in 
February, 1882, appointed Robert S. Williams as 
Chairman of a Committee for the purpose, with au- 
thority to select his associates. The Committee thus 
formed issued the following circular wdiich was sent to 
some three hundred persons, former inhabitants of 
Utica, and leading individuals of the vicinity. 



1832-1882. 

Utica, N. Y., Feb. 17, 1882. 
Dear Sir : 

The Oneida Historical Society proposes to commemorate the 
Semi-Centennial Anniversary of the Charter of the City of Utica, 
by appropriate exercises, on Wednesday, March i, 1882. It cor- 
dially invites you, as a former resident, to be present on that occa- 
sion. The exercises will be a Symposium of brief addresses, letters, 
reminiscences and social intercourse. In the event of your ina- 



4 Sciui-CcntcjuLial of 

bility to come, the Society solicits from you a letter which may be 

read on the occasion. 

An immediate response is requested. 

ROBERT S. WILLIAMS, Chairman. 
WILLIAM J. BACON, JAMES McOUADE. 

ALEXANDER SEWARD, ALEXANDER T. GOODWIN, 

M. M. BAGG. E. PRENTISS BAILEY, 

ELLIS H. ROBERTS, MILES C. COMSTOCK, 

CHARLES E. BARNARD, THEODORE S. SAYRE, 

C. W. HUTCHINSON, MORVEN M. JONES. 

The larger Utica Opera House having been pre- 
engaged, the Committee was compelled to take the 
City Opera House for this Semi-Centennial meeting. 
This they adorned by hanging above and around its 
stage portraits of former village and city officials, 
among whom were included : 

Rudolph Snyder, President of the village in 1818-20, 
also Alderman in 1832. 

Gen'lJoseph Kirkland, first Mayor of the city, 1832. 

John C. Devereux, Mayor 1839-40. 

Joshua A. Spencer, Mayor 1848. 

Alrick Hubbell,Mayor 1856-57. Alderman 1840-41. 

Theodore S. Faxton, Mayor 1864. 

Thomas Walker, Trustee 1821-24. Overseer of the 
Poor 1822. Treasurer 1833-35. 

Thomas Colling, Trustee 1827-31, Clerk 1832-33. 

Aldermen, — E. S. Barnum, 1832-33, 1836, 1842 ; 
Harvey Barnard, 1832-33, 1837, 1847 ! John A. Russ, 
1832; James Sayre, 1834; Spencer Kellogg, 1839; 
Michael McQuade, 1839, 1847-48, 1850-56 ; John J. 
Francis, 1840-43; J ared E. Warner, 1841-44; Hiram 
Greenman, 1842-43. 




The City of Utica. 5 

Orsamus B. Matteson, City Attorney 1832-33. 

Thomas Broadway, Clerk of Clinton Market 1832. 

Alexander Coburn, City Clerk 1845. 

Cards of invitation, of which the following is a 
copy, were sent to a very large number of citizens, to 
more in fact than it was feared the hall would accom- 
modate : 

Semi-Centennial Anniversary 

yj? OF THE 

"citArter of the city of utica, n. y., 
m^ Wednesday, March i, 1882. 

The Oneida Historical Society respectfully invites your attend- 
ance at a Symposium, at the City Opera House, \Vednesday even- 
ing at 7.30, March i, 1882. 

COMMITTEE : 

W ROBERT S. WILLIAMS, Chairman. 

WILLIAM J. BACON, JAMES McQUADE, 

ALEXANDER SEWARD, ALEXANDER T. GOODWIN, 

M. M. BAGG, E. PRENTISS BAILEY, 

ELLIS H. ROBERTS, MILES C. COMSTOCK. 

CHARLES E. BARNARD, THEODORE S. SAYRE. 

C. W. HUTCHINSON. MORVEN M. JON^pS. 

ADMIT GENTLEMAN AND LADY. 

Show this ticket at the door. 

All through the day and evening of March ist, 
rain fell in torrents, and though this had the effect of 
limiting the audience, yet this audience was a full and 
a thoroughly representative one, the older and better 
known of the people of Utica and its neighborhood 
being, for the most part, present. While the hall was 




6 Sciu 2- Ccntcn n ia I of 

filling the Philharmonic Orchestra, led by Prof. 
Lombard, played in pleasing- style and with acceptance 
the Grand National Overture. 

Upon the stage were seated, besides the speakers of 
the evening ancj the Committee of Arrangements, 
Mayor James Miller, Ex-Mayors H. H. Fish, Ephraim 
Chamberlain, DeWitt C. Grove, Theodore F. But- 
terfield, Charles K. Grannis, James McOuade, M. C. 
Comstock, Theodore S. Sayre, Chas. W. Hutchinson, 
Chas. E. Barnard, Hon. M. H. Merwin, Hon. A. T. 
Goodwin, and other honored guests, including James 
C. Delong, Alderman in 1835, 1837-38, now-in his 
92d year, and Liberty Powell, who was born in Utica in 
1796. 

The exercises of the occasion were conducted nearly 
in accordance with the following programme : 

THE PROGRAMME. 

OvER'n'RE — Grand National. - . D. IVeigand 

Philharmonic Orchestra. 
PRESENTATION OF LETTERS, . R. S. Williams 

1 THE FIRST TWO MAYORS, . . Hon. W. J. Bacon 

2 EARLY UTICA, . . THo>rAs Allen Clarke, Yonkers 

3 THE CLERGY OF UTICA, . Rev. D. G. Corey, D. D. 

PicoLO Solo — La Flute Enchantoe, . . 

Dr. p. Melfi. 

4 UTICA AND THE NORTH, Walter B Camp, Sacketts Harbor 

5 OUR CHARITIES. . . . Hon. John F. Seymour 

6 OUR SISTER CITIES. . . . B. B. Burt, Oswego 

7 THE MENTAL AND INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY 

OF UTICA, .... Hon. Ellis H. Rouerts 

8 OUR LEARNED PROFESSIONS, . Hon. Francis Keknan 

9 CONGRATULATIONS OF A SISTER SEMI- 

CENTENNIAL CITY, . . . F. F. Fargo, *Buffalo 

Waltzes — Sweet Sixteen, . . A. Aroiison 

Philharmonic Orchestra. 
ID OUR EARLY PUBLISHERS, . Hon. DrWitt C. Grove 

Cornet Solo — The Favorite, . y. L. Gartland 

*Mr. F.irgo did nut .ippe.ir. 



The City of Utica. 7 

11 READING OF THE CITY CHRONICLES, Dr. M. M. Bagg 

12 THE MILITARY HISTORY OF UTICA, Gen. James McQuade 

13 OUR LATE COMERS, . . . Rev. I. S. Hartley 

Polka De Concert — Le Dame de Ca?iir, P. Farhach 

Philharmonic Orchestra. 
Galcp— Bascher Entschluss, . . C. Faiist 

Philharmonic Orchestra. 

At 7,30 r. M., Robert S. Williams, Chairman of the 
Committee of Arranorements. called the meeting to 
order and invited Hon. Wm. J. Bacon to preside. 
Judge Bacon, took the chair amid the hearty applause 
of the audience. 

Chairman Williams said he had received letters of 
regret from over one hundred former citizens of Utica 
and vicinitv, all of which it would be impossible to read. 
He read extracts from a few of them which were 
listened to with pleasure, and were read with delight 
in the papers of the following day wherein they were 
printed more at length. These letters appear below, 
arranged in alphabetical order. 



HON. WILLIAM J. BACON. 

Judge Bacon opened his address in his usual happy 
and facetious style, and then spoke as follows of 
" The First Two Mayors of Utica " : 

What httle I have to say on this occasion will be simply in- 
troductory, and have relation principally to a mention of the 
two men who stood at the head of the city government, your 
first two mayors, and to the remarkable visitation which signal- 
ized the administration of the first. As most of you will 
readily recall, the first maj^or of Utica was Joseph Kirkland ; 
the second M'as Henry Seymour. The first was elected in 
1S3'2. and the second in 1S33. Without dwellino- on their 



8 Seiiii-Ccntcnnial of 

special characteristics, which time will not allow, I can com- 
prehensively and truthfully say of both, that they were model 
mayors. They were dignified and coui'tly in manner, perfect 
gentlemen of the old school, men of clear, cool heads, of un- 
(|uestioned integrity, and who properly magnified their office 
and faithfully discharged its duties. In their days '' the 
righteous flourished like the palm tree, and corruption stood 
afar off." 

In the first year of the city government that dreaded 
scourge, the Asiatic cholera, made its appearance here. It 
came upon us almost unheralded, and what gave to fear addi- 
tional wings was the fact that instead of first assaulting the 
homes of the vilest and the lowest, it struck down as its earliest 
victims some of our best and most worthy citizens. The con- 
sequence was that universal terror reigned, places of business 
were mostly closed, and the silence of death reigned in the 
streets, and soon an alarming exodus prevailed among the 
people. The multitude was paralyzed with fear, and the 
^'■Sauve qui jpeuf after Waterloo was the general cry. There is 
no doubt that mere physical fear added greatly to the malig- 
nancy of the disease, and set almost at naught the prescriptions 
of the physicians and the solicitous nursing of the most devoted 
friends. Many a man rose from his bed with the morning sun 
apparently vigorous and cheerful, upon whose grave the 
twilight shadows fell. A few brave and self-sacrificing spirits 
stood up, " unshaken, unseduced, unterrified," but the mass 
verified Byron's description of the shijjwreck : 

" Then rose from sea to sky the wild farewell. 

Then shrieked the timid, and stood still the brave ; 
And some leaped overboard with frantic yell, 

As eager to anticipate their grave." 

Among the calmest and bravest was the mayor, General 
Kirkland, who never for a moment yielded to unmanly fear, or 
omitted a duty to which he was called. I saw him every 
morning, as he quietly looked over the sick and the death roll 
of the preceding day and gave the necessary orders for removal 
or interment. And without disparagement to others, let me 
mention here two men most conspicuous in their service and 
most helpful by their activity, until each in turn was stricken 
down by the fell disease — not fatally, indeed, but most seriously 




'yO^rL0^ 




SECDND MAYOR. 



The City of Utica. g 

and alarmingly. Those men were Spencer Kellogg and 
Colonel William Williams. Nothing daunted them, nothing 
withheld them from the bedsides of the sick and dying, or 
even the offices needful for the dead. The cheerful, beaming- 
face of Williams carried in itself benediction and healing, and 
the firm determination of Kellogg inspired courage and hope 
in almost despairing hearts. 

This much I have felt it due to say of an event the darkest 
and most mournful in our history, and which was coeval with 
the first year of our municipal existence. If we are ever 
visited again with a like calamity, may we find officials equally 
prompt and brave to meet it, and citizens adequate to the toils 
and sacrifices it calls for. 

Let me claim yoxxx indulgence for trespassing a little beyond 
the space I had allotted to myself, by mentioning very briefly 
one other of the early ma)^ors of Utica, whose name ought not 
to be forgotten on such an occasion as this. Edmund K. 
Wetmore was an alderman, and for two consecutive terms 
Mayor of the city. But perhaps the most conspicuous, and 
certainly the most valuable service he rendered, was as Com- 
missioner of our Common and Advanced Schools and Free 
Academy. Of the system which has worked so admirably, he 
was mainly the author, and he was chosen to that position for 
twenty years and would have been even longer continued but 
for his voluntary retirement. He was a Trustee of our Female 
Seminary, and largely confided in by its conductors as their 
wise and trusted adviser. He was the first Treasurer of the 
State Lunatic Asylum and continued in that oflBce until his 
death. And he was a Trustee and for many years President 
of the old iron Savings Bank, which has been so beneficent and 
helpful a friend to those especially in thehumbler walks of life. 
He was, indeed, ever and always the poor man's friend, and 
when he was laid away to rest, the tears of many such bedewed 
his grave. No citizen of Utica, it may be safely said, ever 
gave to its people a more useful or disinterested service, and 
not one that has borne office among us, has left behind hiin a 
purer or brighter record. 

In conclusion Judge Bacon read the resolution lim- 
iting the speakers to ten minutes. 



lo Scin i- Ccn ten n ial of 



THOMAS ALLEN CLARKE. 

I LATE OF NEW ORLEANS.) 

When I received the circular invitation to be present on this 
occasion and my eye traversed the names of the committee, I 
felt a glow of excitement. All were familiar, each name sug- 
gested a father of the hamlet. The form, features, walk, and 
character of each appeared before me as in very life. But 
when a special invitation to address you came, I said to myself, 
if I allow the flood gates of memory to be unlocked, I shall 
overwhelm and di'own ; and then I thought that there was no 
need to bring before you in large and exhaustive statement, 
incidents of lives so well and faithfully recorded by my life- 
long friend, Dr. Bagg, whose book detained me, when I opened 
it, far into the night, with exciting pleasure. 

I will detain you with but few reminisences, though they 
bristle around me. I wish rather to impress you with the 
mighty potentialities of this small and simple village life. It 
is said tliat in old age, while the memory of the recent is blank 
and unfaithful, the buried treasures of childhood rise with 
freshness to the heart and beam forth in the countenance. I feel 
myself to night a boy again. I tread the unpaved streets 
within the limits of Broadway, just by the eastern boundaries 
of Judge Coopers farm, in front of Judge Ezekiel Bacon's 
early home and by the tanner}' of David P. Hoyt. I see the 
white grave stones in the distance, near Mr. Potters' farm 
house. I ascend b}' the birthplace of Henry Inman towards 
the hill, cross Liberty street just in sight of James S. Kip's 
then palatial stone mansion, lingering to play in Mr. Thomas 
Walker's yard, and then without crossing a canal — for there 
was none then constructed — across field and through woods, 
reaching Genesee street not far above General Kirkland's 
mansion, Mr. Plant's farm lying in sight ; then down by the 
homes of the Van Rensselaers, (now the site of the Butterfield 
House,) and those of Arthur Breese, father of United States 
Senator Breese and the Cona:nodore Breese, A. B. Johnson 
and Thomas E. Clarke; crossing eastward over field to the 
bridge road, then to what was planned to be Chancellor square, 
and onward to the creek, where Butcher Brown kept his sham- 



The City of Utica. 1 1 

bles ; thence toward the river, tiuuTing at Judge Miller's for 
fun and froHc with the bojs, one of whom was a future general 
in the army ; then flanking or jumping over the ruins of old 
Fort Schuyler, reaching the swimming place. What a congre- 
gation of boys ! On an equality as pure as nature. If I had 
possessed a prophetic ken, I would have seen in Hans Crocker, 
the enterprising millionaire of Wisconsin, the son of a mason, 
the renowned Harry Eockwell, equestrian, dashing water over 
doctors of law, medicine, divinity and renowned civilians, 
known in all ranks of life, senators, judges, governors, swim- 
ming in competition with professors of oriental and scientific 
lore, a gi'and counsel of harmonies made up of the unharmon- 
ious. But I hasten on by the river bank to the landing near the 
foot of Genesee street. Boats of commerce propelled by poles 
with auxiliary sails are loading and unloading — the great four- 
horse wagons are passing their loads to the boats and receiving 
new to carry to the then far west of Onondaga and the Genesee 
country. Ah ! the distant sound of the horn intimates the 
speedy arrival of the stage coach. All run to witness a 
bustling scene — the proud horses dashing around the square in 
full career to the door of Bagg's Tavern, the passengers 
alighting, wearied but delighted with the promised rest and 
food. But John Butterfield or Theodore Faxton beckon to 
me I run to accept the invitation and to jump upon the box 
beside him and ride around — a proud boy — to the stable. 
Meeting there the then venerable J'ason Parker, and by invita- 
tion accompan}' him to his farm, where I was petted with all 
sorts of good things, and a promise of a colt. T have passed 
around the boundaries of the village. 

At a liitle later period when Chancellor Square has been 
laid out and the building known as the Academy iias been 
erected, and the United States Court is to hold sessions there, 
during court time the boys of the Academy are let loose with 
freedom. Ah ! they will not forget to go in the earl}^ morning 
to the vicinity of Mr. Bagg's tavern to see the forming and 
movement of the procession to escort Judge Conkling to the 
Court House. The constabulary of the county, with the 
marshal and his deputies, precede the law}- ers, who are followed 
by the Judsfe in robes. 



12 Set) 1 1- Ccn ten n iai of 

I would like to enter the court room with you and see the 
(jrderlj administration of justice, witness the sharp encounters 
of the great lawyers of the state, to tell'you about each — Aaron 
Burr, Jonas Piatt, Samuel Beardsley, Joshua A. Spencer, B. 
F. Butler, Henry R. Storrs, General Kirkland and others. 
Your own county men wei'e by general judgment the peers of 
all. 

T wish you to walk with me up Genesee street, starting from 
Whitesboro street. I would like to introduce you to all the 
worthy men by the way : talk with Dr. Hitchcock about the 
wonderful virtues of Dr. Roberts' Welsh medicamentum. 
That fine, tall and portly gentleman standing at his door and 
dangling his watch chain with its heavy seal is Ebenezer B. 
Shearman, the father of the cotton manufactory of the county. 
Look at that sign opposite Broad sti-eet, " Seward & Williams, 
Booksellers." A little farther along look at this building of 
more than the usual architectural appearance ; it is the Ontario 
Branch Bank; this sign, " James H. Hackett, Grocer ;'' and 
this, "James Dana, Hardware." 

Asahel Seward, the senior, is a quiet earnest citizen ; his 
boys are with you now. William Williams, the busy man, 
tills a large place in the village activities. Colonel of the 
militia, elder in the church, foreman of the only tire company, 
editor of the leading newspapei", and probably one of the most 
earnest and popular men of his time. His sons went forth 
from their home to become missionaries, one to China as a 
printer has become one of the best known orientalists of the 
times. The government has often demanded his services as 
Charge d' affaires. He opened, as interpreter for Commodore 
Perry, the way of communication with the Japanese, and now 
as a Professor in Yale and as President of the American Bible 
Society, S . Wells Williams is spending the evening of his 
honored life. Another son spent his life in endeavoring to 
awaken the fatalistic Moslem to an understanding of the faith 
of Jesus Christ. I need not make to blush by notice another 
who is present to-night. Within that bank are two men of 
marked but different character and disposition — the one divid- 
ing bis time between finance and lexicography — the other 
attending diligently to his work, but evidently longing for a 
diversion into the realms of literature and art — and to minister 



The City of Utica. ij 

at the altar of hospitality. In the former you see potentially 
the great and esteemed jurist who but recently departed this 
life. In the other — a divine, for longj^ears edifying and bless- 
ing the people of Boston — and a naval commander of the 
highest rank in a sister republic, who to defend a fiiend whom 
he deemed unjustly accused and whom he had been compelled 
to supercede, exposed himself to the sure perils of a pesti- 
lential atmosphere, dying to defend the honor of his profession. 
James H. Hackett, himself the most distinguished "Falstaff" 
of his time — potentially John K. Hackett, Eecorder of New 
York, one of the best administrators of criminal justice known 
to that city. " James Dana,'' a faithful christian gentleman — 
potentially in James Dwight Dana — as I have been often told, 
since Humboldt, the best known and most esteemed abroad of 
the geologists of his time. 

We are just above Liberty street. Do you see yonder in- 
struments for survey ? Do you note the two men directing 
their movement in the hands of subordinates? The younger 
one is the bright, alert, and handsome Holmes Hutchinson. 
His name is tamiliar to you to-day, and you have honored it 
with the chief magistracy of your city. The elder of the two 
is Henry Seymour, Canal Commissioner, a man to attract your 
attention, and if 3^ou know him, you admire him for his placid, 
dignified bearing, strong judgment, and undeviating truth. 
As ardent an advocate of the canal and as earnest worker for 
the object as DeWitt Clinton. No wonder that his sons and 
his son's son have taken up their father's work, that his labors 
ma}^ have fruition in the freedom of this great artery for the 
commerce of the world. 

It has been my privilege to meet in familiar converse men 
of influence and distinction in all political parties from all 
parts of our country, and though differing from him in many 
points, yet all concur that for political sagacity, large and 
broad views of public polic}', learning, and wisdom, and all 
endowments of statesmanship, with eloquence and energy, no 
one in this land of ours surpasses, if an}' are equal, to the 
eldest son of Henry Seymour. 

These men. Hutchinson and Seymour, are apparently pi'e- 
paring temporary obstruction in the street just near, north of 
the dwellinR- of Samuel Stocking, but in their minds they are 



14 Sciui-Ccntcniiial of 

opening across the street the water way by which the commerce 
of the great west may reach the ocean. They lived to see the 
event. 

Pardon a personal alhision to an historic event. 1 saw 
myself the s})ade remove the earth at this point, and the waters 
from the west bieak for the first time from the western level 
into the eastern. And later on I was })resent at the bridal of 
the great western lakes with the ocean at Sandy Hook. 
DeWitt Clinton, the great high priest of improvement, per- 
formed the ceremony, and I witnessed the marriage and heard 
the benediction pronounced by his eloqnent lips, and which 
has had such abundant fruitage. 

I would like to carry you around the village and introduce 
you to each and all, that you might see in detail the simple 
village life with its unconventionalities. For I believe there 
was a time when I knew every man, woman and child, as they 
also knew me. But one or two incidents, somewhat personal, 
I must not pass before I relieve your attention, especially as 
one illustrates the proper subordination of the military to the 
civil. The Academy to which allusion has been made was 
sixty years or more ago under the charge o£ Captain Charles 
Stuart, a half-pay officer of the British army. He organized 
the school with a military command, submitting to the boys 
all authority, only reserving to himself the privilege of musi- 
cian. He was the sole musician — the instrument a flute. His 
uniform, the same as his ordinary dress — a Scotch plaid straight 
collar, single breasted frock, nankeen pantaloons, and low 
glazed leather cap. An election of officers was had, and will 
you believe it, the youngest and smallest boy in the school was 
choosen major general. His chief duty was to walk beside 
Captain Stuart with such provision of uniform as a boy's toys 
may afford. Why this choic? was made I never knew, but in 
reading history after the event I presume it was another illus- 
tration of thwarted ambition, as in the case of a cardinal who 
was elected pope because the condition of his health implied 
that he would scarcely survive the cardinalship. Or the case 
of the Grecian general who, though least esteemed, received all 
the votes of his associates for chief command, because each 
one expected it for himself, and all voted for the man least 
likely to be voted for. But it happened in the school that the 



The City of Utica. 15 

general outside was guilty of insubordination. Then must 
come punishment, and to his chargin the captain, Stuart, im- 
pressed the lesson which all militar^^ men should heed : 
" Tommy, you are my general out of school ; I am your gene- 
ral in school." His military honors soon terminated. He has 
had none since. His fellow-citizens have never been so careless 
as to bestow upon him their suffrages. But he prides himself 
as having had under his command, and " the boy is father to 
the man," men of the loftiest civil, military and naval rank. 
This is all the military or civil glory he has or to which he 
aspires. 

The forefathers of this village believed in a personal God. 
They unitedly established worship without distinction of sect. 
Eoman Catholics and Protestants united for some time in 
public worship in such hall as they could obtain. It is, I 
believe, a well authenticated fact that John C. Devereux, a 
distinguished Roman Catholic, carried around the plate to 
gather contributions for the maintenance of worship. And 
afterward, when from the influx of an Irish population it was 
deemed for the public interest to found a Roman Catholic 
Church, the people generall}' contributed to that end, and quite 
a large wooden edifice, of gi-aceful proportions, was erected at 
the corner of John and Bleecker streets. I well remember the 
first pi'iest of that church, Father Farnum. He was a person 
of fine appearance and manners, and known familiarly in 
society. I remember his oft kindly greeting when I was a boy. 
The other clergy of that period were men of learning and 
piety and held a commanding influence in the church. Few 
of us can remember Henry Dwight — afterward the distinguished 
banker of Geneva — but many will remember Elon Galusha, 
Dr. Aikin, Dr. Bethune, Henry Anthon and William Hague. 
What channel of public influence has not been followed by 
your townsmen. 

Upon what point can you stand of art, (Inman and Palmer 
were of this village,) letters, science, philosophy, theology, law 
or statesmanship — the Senate of this Union — the highest 
judicial tribunals. State or National, and'not feel assured that 
the impress of the minds of this valley is felt. It has been my 
privilege to meet in different parts of this land citizens of 
Utica, and they have all testified their pride of origin. 



/ 6 Scm 2- Ccn ten n ia I of 

It seems to me that all the highways have a beginning at 
Utica. Certainly the avenues to the Pacific slope, the course 
of the electric current carryino- words to and from all quarters 
of the globe, and the great express companies owe much, if not 
their beginning, to T. S. Faxton and John Butterfield. There 
is one avenue yet for a son of Utica to tread, and it is not too 
much to ex})ect that at no remote period that to the White 
House, will be trod in state by some one of your worthy sons. 

There is a vast distinction between property and wealth, A 
nation may spread itself over thirty degrees of latitude and as 
many of longitude and 3^et be poor indeed. On our southern 
border lies a country sweeping south into the isthmus, and 
washed on her eastern and western shores bv the great oceans 
of the world, upon wliich nature has bestowed latent resources 
of wealth, rivaling those of ancient Egypt — the granarv of the 
then known world. And yet how poor ! Compare it with 
England, so insignificant in her liome territoiy tliat vou might 
place it upon a single province of Mexico. Not her beds of 
€oal nor iron, noi' her ponderous engines, nor her valleys, nor 
her hills, nor lier cities or her towns, nor her armies or her 
navies, but that life bloocl which circulates through all these 
great arteries, pulsating with the swelling of her great heart, 
makes her preeminent among the nations in wealth and power. 
It is the living man who touches with his wand the latent 
powers of earth, and wealth flows forth to refresh and sustain. 

Friends and townsmen, you may to-night permit me to 
address you with something of the prophet, but more of the 
■dogmatist in the well-known apostrophe to Cato — 

" No pent lip Utica contracts your powers, 
But the whole boundless continent is vours. 



WALTER B. CAMP. 

Hon. Walter B, Camp of Sacketts Harbor, then 
spoke on " Utica and the North," as follows: 

The question may naturall}^ arise in your minds whj* a 
stranger to most of this assembly should be introduced, when 
so mau}^ of your own and honored citizens are read}^ to pay 



The City of Utica. ly 

homage to the good name of the city of their adoption or 
birth, and to whom you are pleased always to give a listening 
ear. I beg the privilege of entering into your jo}^ this even- 
ing, not as an apparent heir, but heir apparent by direct de- 
scent to some of the rich legacies Utica has bequeathed with 
unsparing hand to her favored and grateful children. She gave 
our house an honored parentage, entered into under the ben- 
edictions of that worthy divine, Henry Dwight. At this 
favored hour we come to wave a censer of sweet odors in honor 
of her name. 

In 1809 Talcott Camp, our ancestor, was chosen Presi- 
dent of the village of Utica, and this is the fiftieth anniversary 
of his death among 3-ou, falling a victim to cholera, in 1832, on 
its introduction and dreaded march over our continent. How 
fitting that he retire to rest, when the Utica of his love, the 
child he fostered at the cradle, could stand at his bier adorned 
in robes of full municipal power, to cast a token of her affec- 
tionate regard.' 

Utica and Sacketts Harbor were closely alh'ed by the stir- 
ring events of the war of 1812. Through your valley and vil- 
lage hastened troops from the east, carrying with them many 
of your patriotic citizens to that lake port, zealous to defend our 
land from invasion by the powers of Great Britain, or to be 
aggressors upon the soil or the waters of our enemy. Nicholas 
Smith is recorded as arriving to the distinction of Colonel. 
Col. William Williams, with his companions, volunteered 
instantly on the call for recruits, and in a few hours were 
on tlieir wa}" to the Harbor. Notably among the hoys were 
Theodore Faxton and that printer, Thurlow Weed, who still 
lives, and but latel}^, with vigorous pen held up for emulation 
the stalwart worth of j'our fathers. 

Lusher. Van Santvoord & Co. furnished the army with sup- 
plies, and met all the demands of trade by the means of river 
and lake navigation. The first steamboat on lake Ontario, or 
any lake, was built by M. T. Woolsey, Samuel F. Hooker, 
Elisha Camp and Hunter Crane at Sacketts Harbor, in 1816, 
Lusher. Smyth, and Gen. Jacob Brown claiming the I'ight to 
steam navigation upon this lake, bj^ privilege from Mrs. Rob- 
ert Fulton. 
B 



iS S€?n i- C en ten n in I of 

When no longer the Mohawk river was desirable as a 
nnedium of transportation, Mr. Van Santvoord made New York 
his home, becoming foremost in establishing steamboat lines 
of transportation on the Hudson. His son Alfred, called the 
Commodore, inherited his father's tastes, and now unchallenged 
sends those swift palace steamers through the length of that 
beautiful river. Utica having originated and being; the s;reat 
stage center of the State, remained in supreme command till 
Faxton and Butterfield fired the fatal shaft at their own enter- 
prise, by aiding or constructing the inevitable railroad. For 
relief and fresh air Mr. Butterfield sent his coursers from Mis- 
souri over the Indian territory, the stake plains of Texas, 
through the canons to Santa Fe, till he marked the course for 
another railroad to the Pacific. If the proclivities of this life 
are followed in the better country, we may presume " Uncle 
John" has driven his tandem team to the North Pole, and as 
the last place on earth to press his leader, leaving there some 
memento of his visit. 

Expectations of a great city at the foot of all the lakes in- 
duced merchants, artisans, professional men. divines, and that 
wealthy innkeeper. White, from their avocations here, to be- 
come citizens of Sacketts Hai'bor. My father, after the disso- 
lution of the firm of Camp, Merrell & Camp, moved his press 
there and started the first newspaper, in May 1817, calling it, 
of course. The Gazette. In 1816 officers of the army and navy, 
with our citizens, " called" Eev. Sidney Snowden of New 
Hartford, who married Susan Breese, to be pasloi" of the Pres- 
byterian Society. He was followed, in 1827, by the eccentric 
and gifted evangelist, Jedediah Burchard. In 1836 you also 
gave us George Wilson, whose memory is jirecious and his 
works impressed on your lives. In turn, we gave you the 
gallant and brave Woolse}^ and the Revei-end for whom Mr. 
Burchard preached on a memorable Sabbath, and prayed "that 
the Lord would give him a baptism of tire, for he had been 
feeding the people six years with water — diving into an ocean 
of metaphysics and bringing up a continent of mud."' He 
then implored for " more lire and less water.'" Our commerce 
flourished till the construction of the Rome and Watertown 
Railroad, in 1851, when our merchants sought the growing- 
West, with which they had been closely allied. When Chicago 



The City of Utica. ig 

was a hamlet, they sent the first vessel that entered that creek 
with 50 barrels of pork and the same of flour, as a venture. 
The return of that cargo lias been marvelous. ^'^^''^''^''^^'^ ^^'6 
now traversing all the old stage routes to the lake and rivei*. 
Our merchants again are active, forwarding the products of land 
and lake. The iron horses of Thorn & Maynard are refreshed 
every few hours with a sip of water from Ontario. 

A further notice of Talcott Camp seems appropriate at this 
time. At the age <.A nineteen lie left an unfinished course at 
Yale, to engage in the War of Independence. Being attached 
to the Commissary department, he was soon made aware of the 
sufferings of the army, and her limited supplies. Immediate 
action on the part of Washington was taken to prevent the 
already disheartened troops from knowing the condition of 
affairs and by some means secui-e subsistence before the rations 
were exhausted— a dreaded calamity, for starvation ends 
-patriotism in mutiny and a lost cause. Our overweighted forces 
were surrounded by the enemy who were ready to take advan- 
tage of our misfortunes. Young Camp was chosen for the 
emergency to convey to a distant post the information. Riding 
all night and well into Sunday, he overtook a man and wife 
horseback, on saddle and pillion, going to church. An ex- 
change of horses was requested, — to meet a decided refusal. 
When the emergency was made known and the commander's 
orders to press into service all needful helps, the loyal and 
losing owners of a splendid animal willingly gave it up. "For 
Washington says so."' In a moment more the tireless rider 
and the beautiful grey mare flying on their mission — supplies 
were secured, and forwarded in time to avert the impending 
disaster. 

Before coming to Utica, he traveled into the far West, horse- 
back, in company, so said, with the renowned Commodore Paul 
Jones, to locate land, settling at last near Fort Washington. 
Here he laid out what comprised half of the city of Cincinnati, 
in 1828. An unfaithful or treacherous agent took advantage 
of distance and let this valuable possession pass out of keeping. 
For no inducements or consideration would the original owner 
or his heirs distress the innocent occupants in after years. My 
father was in that city during the winters of 1828-30, and at 
the time of the great flood. At night he heard a call for help and 



20 Scnii-Centcniiial of 

periled his life in a small boat to rescue a young man clinging 
to a tree top yet left unsubmerged. It proved to be the son of 
the unprofitable agent. 

His namesake and nephew, T. H. Camp, son of George 
Camp, has for many years managed the largely increased in. 
terests of the Jefferson County Bank, Watertown, N. Y., as 
President, of which F. White, before mentioned, was about its 
first, in 1816. His brother, G. H. Camp, left Utica for Georgia^ 
in 1842, and soon became interested in cotton manufacturing. 
When Gen. Sherman broke the Kenesaw barrier for Atlanta, 
his extensive works were given to the flames. They would 
have remained uninjured, but for a "Truly Lile" young 
spinner, with a little mill below, raising a French flag. He 
and Napoleon, in Mexico, were going to "do the business,' 
which flaunt was met by ordering my brother's establishments 
burned,* by supposing him the offender. 

Mr. Henry Merrill, son of Andrew Merrill and Harriet Camp, 
left Utica in 1839, and tlie employ of the Walcotts, for the 
South, and became a contractor and owner of cotton factories in 
Georgia and Arkansas. During the late civil war, he was 
attached to Kilby Smith's Staff as Chief Engineer, and was 
entrusted also with means to purchase machinery in England 
to construct factories in Texas. While there an end came of 
the Confederacy. Mr. M. deposited the funds, half to the order 
of Kilby Smith and the other to the U. S., and with honorable 
mention by Mr. Seward, returned to allegiance. 

To show how ubiquitous your inhabitants are, I will relate 
Mr. M.'s account of a stage ride in Texas. Expecting an at- 
tack from rangers for plunder, they were not surprised at 
hearing the driver sa}', " There they are," as he stopped the 
stage. The party sprang from the vehicle with their revolvers, 
to "do or die." Along an edge of elevated ground were the 
enemy in position, standing in formidable array against the 
moon." "What ye going to dof says the driver. "These 
screaming varmints are Cy-otes.'" A few months after Butter- 
field's driver (left in Dixie on secession) nudged his passenger 
on Genesee street with the suggestive inquirv : " Did those 
robbing Cy-otes ever trouble you again ?" 

*Gen. Hooker. 



The City of Utica. 21 

One unpublished incident I relate and finish. Your im- 
agination will picture the road and vehicle that conve3'ed three 
printers to New Hartford, with their instruments of music, 
wherewith to make merry at the marriage of William Williams 
and Sophia Wells. Thomas Hastings plaj-ed before his com- 
panions and friends, George Camp and Ira Merrill, the wedding- 
march composed for the occasion. Their rehearsal with 
clarionet, bassoon and flute must have been satisfactory, for all 
were delighted with the stirring melody 

How much the world, in its broadest sense, is indebted to the 
parties of that hour, can never be recorded. Wherever poetic 
fire and sacred melody swell the "heavenly flame," Thomas 
Plastings' name is revered. Ira Merrill had the gift of impress- 
ing those in his employ to high and worthy motives, and im 
planting his virtues on his descendants. Of the other it is not 
for me to eulogize; his memory is sacred in our keeping. His 
virtues are for others to praise. 

Of William Williams, are not his name and deeds written in 
the book of " The Pioneers ?" The results of that union have 
effected " earth's remotest bounds." Their children have told 
emperors, shahs and sultans " they are the inhabitants of no 
mean city." Wells Williams, with the gifted sons, stands to- 
day alone preeminently above all men for his knowledge of 
the Chinese language and empire, and is equaled by few for his 
varied learning and qualities of heart. 

Citizens of Utica, build your Wallhalla conspicuous and 
ample. Preserve in statue and painting the forms of your 
ancestors and worthies. Record the deeds of your states- 
men and divines, merchants and projectors of great enter- 
prises, and don't forget the printers' corner. 

Note. — Mr. Camp was a twin brother, married Nancy Hale, twin sister 
with Eunice (daughter of Captain Jonathan Hale who died on Jamaica 
Plains, 1776) and had born to him twins. Nancy and Eunice. The latter 
married Mr. W. F. Potter and became the mother of twin daughters. Dr. 
H. C. Potter, Mrs. Helen Warner, Mary and Elizabeth still survive her and 
deserve honorable mention. 



22 Senii-CciitcnuHil of 

REV. DR. O. G. COREY. 

Rev. Dr. Corey spoke of the "Clergy of Utiea," 
as follows : 

Mr. Chairman — I have been requested to occupy five or ten 
minutes on this occasion, and devote them to some thoughts 
concerning former ministers of the gospel in this city. Of 
course, in so short a time, the view presented must necessarily 
be ver}' imperfect. 

The history of Utica, hke all other cities in this Christian 
land, has been associated with the presence, power and influ- 
ence of the Christian pulpit. Fi'om the beginning, good men, 
and true, by the inculcation of the great principles of religion 
and morality, have contributed to our temporal and religious 
prosperity as a city. Mv personal acquaintance with some 60 
of these men, since 1842, enables me to speak positively of 
their moral worth, and devotion to every good word and work- 

Among the number of ministers who have labored in this 
city, there were some men of marked ability, and extensive 
influence in the various denominations to which they belonged. 

Among these were Samuel C. Aikin, D. D., who was pastor 
of the First Presbyterian Church eighteen years. He was a 
model man in character, a good preacher, and greatly beloved 
by all the people. P. H, Fowler, D. D., was pastor of the 
same church twenty-two years. His influence for good will 
long be felt in the city. Dr. Pierre A. Proal, for twenty-one 
years, was rector of Trinity Church. He was a man of command- 
ing presence, and of decided influence among his own people 
and in the city generally. Rev. Elon Galusha, William Hague, 
D. I)., and Edward Kingsford, I). D., of the Broad Street 
Baptist Church — now Tabernacle, were men of uncommon 
pulpit power. My predecessor in the Bleecker Street Baptist 
Church, was Edward Bright, D. D., now publisher and editor 
of " T}ie Excaniner,'^ printed in the city of New York. As 
the first religious organization in our city was composed of 
Welsh citizens, recently from Wales, as an act of justice, it 
should be said, that from 1801, until the present, religious ser- 
vices have been sustained in the Welsh language. Among 
the ministei's have been some men of great ability, and effi- 



The City of Utica. 2j 

ciency in this work. Dr. Branclegee was the laborious rector of 
Grace Church. After struggling against disease for _years, he 
fell in the midst of liis usefulness. Among the large number 
of Methodist ministers who have labored in the city, William 
Bristol, D. D., deserves special mention as an eloquent preacher 
and eminently patriotic during our recent war. Samuel Fisher, 
D. D., of the Westminster Church, was a prince among preach- 
ers. He was suddenly stricken down in connection with his 
highest usefulness. Not to speak depreciatingly of others, 
two men, former pastors of the Reformed Church, deserve special 
mention as men of eminent ability. Dr. Hejiry Mandeville 
was eminent as an elocutionist, both as a teacher and preacher 
G. W. Bethune, D. D., was a ripe scholar and an attractive 
preacher. He was not always as careful as some others, per- 
haps, to show the clergyman by speech, coat and hat. Not 
^infrequently he enjoyed a pure witticism and a dry joke. For 
example, one day he made some inquiiy of a gentleman in 
this city — now dead — as to his personal interest in the subject 
of religion. "O !" said the gentleman, "I inherited my religion 
from my father." "Well," said Dr. Bethune, "your father must 
have had very little religion or a large number of children to 
supply." This is all that the time will allow me to say upon 
the subject assigned me. I clo-e by simply saying, that em- 
bracing all denominations, we have now thirty-two churches in 
our cit}'. 

Dr. P. Melfi, of the Philharmonic Orchestra, 
played his piccolo solo, La Fhite Eiichanttc, in ex- 
quisite style and was warmly applauded. 



HON. JOHN F. SEYMOUR. 

Before openrng his address Mr. Seymour said he 
was curious to know how Chairman Bacon kept his 
time, and fearing that he would not be correct, he 
would keep his own time. If he was permitted he 
would like to give part of his time to his old friend, 



2^ Scmi-Ccntciinial of 

Mr. Clarke of Yonkers, with whom he used to race 

down Genesee street. (Laughter. ) 

Judge Bacon — Who won the race ? (Laughter.) 
Mr. Seymour then spoke as follows on " Our 

Charities :" 

To speak of the charities of tifty years ago is to speak of the 
sainted women of that time, who here, as well as in other 
portions of our new country, so lived and helped others to live 
as to cause that reverence for women which I trust will always 
characterize the men of America. 

When roads began to stretch out towards the west through 
the forest there was no despairing poverty, but a new world of 
hope before all. To every newcomer sympathy and encour- 
agement were always extended. The settlers were mostly from 
New England. After a while the thrifty Welsh appeared 
among us ; the women, wearing tall hats, carried knitting in 
their hands as they passed through our streets ; and then as 
canals and other works were called for, Ireland, that birthplace 
of workers, sent over her people. The forests began to dis- 
appear from our hillsides ; this was no longer the far west ; the 
throng of emigrants passed beyond us to unoccupied fields, 
but many, captivated by the beautiful valley of the Mohawk, 
made this their home, and thus, by magic, our city grew. 
Jason Parker carried the first mail and established a line of 
stages, and a Butterfield, and a Faxton were among the drivers 
to acquire wealth and means to apply their hands to enterprises 
greater than ever entered the minds of their employers. With 
the population of a city came its unfortunates, its needs, and 
then the commencement of systematic charities. 

Mrs. Divie Bethune, the mother of the Rev. Dr. Bethune, 
came among us, and a school to teach young children to sew 
and to read was established in the old brick Methodist Church 
at the foot of Main street, and Mrs. Sophia Bagg, and Mrs. 
Judge Morris Miller and Mrs. Varick were its managers. Sub- 
sequently, when a change of location became necessary, John 
R. Bleecker of Alban}-, built for the use of this school, the 
brick building on Bleecker street, now occupied by the estab- 
lishment of Mr. Jules Doux. 



The City of Utica. 2^ 

In 1826 a Society of Industry was established, of which 
Mrs. Sophia Bagg was president and treasurer, and Mrs. Ann 
Breese was secretaiy. Subsequently three children " were 
suddenly left b}^ the death of their parents without protection 
or means of support." Mrs. Bagg brought before her associates 
the case of these three children and at her suggestion it was 
determined that the society should not only support these 
orphans, but that an orphan asylum should be estabhshed. 
And accordingly a charter was drawn up, and on the 7th day 
of January, 1830, a public meeting for the organization of this 
asylum was held at Washington Hall, on Broad street. Mrs. 
Maria W. Williams was made first directress, Mrs. Jerusha 
Lothrop, second, and Mrs. Sophia Bagg, third directress ; Mrs. 
Ann H, Denio, secretary; Mrs. Eliza Goodrich, Mrs. Abby 
L. Johnson, Mrs. Esther O. Dorr, Mrs. Abigail Bacon and Mrs. 
Martha Hastings, managers. Thomas H. Hubbard, Asahel 
Seward, Joseph Kirkland and Henry Seymour were made an 
advisory committee. Descendants of some of those whose 
names I have mentioned are still found among the managers 
of this institution, which is now self-supporting. It now owns 
four acres of land (three of which were donated by B. F. Jewett 
and his sister) on Genesee street, with suitable brick buildings 
accommodating 140 children, with school rooms and admirable 
teachers, and ])lenty of play ground, and with money invested 
sufficient to maintain it. So many have helped to sustain and 
endow this valuable institution — now tilled to overflowing — 
that I am afraid if I mentioned the names of Alfred Munson, 
Mr. and Mrs. Silas D. Childs, J. K. Warner, Fi-ancis Ramsdell, 
Dr. Samuel Healey of Syracuse, Benjamin F. Shaw, Theodore 
S. Faxton, Mr.s. Alfred Churchill, Nicholas Vedder, Hiram 
Munroe of Paris, A. Wilmot of New Hartford, William Bris- 
tol, Eobert Disney, J. B. Wasmer, Sevilla Dudgeon and 
Augustus White, I shall omit many others, as time would not 
suffice to mention them all and I am compelled to stop for 
want of permission to give the name of our " unknown friend." 

There is also another orphan asylum, called St. John's, which 
was founded by John C. Devereux and Nicholas Devereux. 
They paid of their own money over $10,000 for lots and 
buildings located upon them for the purposes of this asylum, 
and for several years they largely contributed to maintain this 



26 Semi- Centennial of 

valuable institution, which subsequently became partially self- 
suppf)rting with the aid of annual donations from other 
sources. The success of this asylum is wonderful. It main- 
tains and clothes an annaal average of 100 orphan girls, whose 
lives show how admirably it is conducted. 

And there is St. Vincent's Male Orphan Asylum occupied 
by the managers of the Protectorate and Reformatory for 
destitute children from Oneida and adjacent counties, located 
on Rutger street : this is largely attended. 

A Home for the Homeless aged and indigent or infirm 
women, who are unable to support themselves, was founded in 
1867. Theodore S. Faxton contributing $20,000 and other 
citizens $27,000. Here sixty-one aged women find comfortable 
homes. 

There is also a Home for Old Men which contains twenty 
inmates with room for more ; it is not endowed, but is dependent 
upon the donations of our citizens. The managers of this 
home are women, they owe nothing, they have no money but 
would like some. A portion of their building is occupied as a 
hospital, called Faxton Hospital. It cost not less than $50,000, 
and v/as donated by Mr. Faxton, and he leaves by his will 
$25,000 additional for the support of the Hospital, which has 
already treated many patients and accomplished much good. 

We have also the St. Elizabeth Hospital, which w^as estab- 
lished by the Sisters of St. Francis, in 1866, and wdio by tlieir 
devotion and skillful nursing have maintained it in successful 
operation from that year to this. It will compare favorably 
with any other hospital in the land. Connected with it is an 
eye and ear dispensary, which, since 1870, has taken care of 
3,300 cases gratuitously. Nearly every operation known to 
surgery has been successfully performed in this hospital. It 
is sustained by private charity, and occasionally by patients 
who can afford to pay. 

St. Luke's Home and Hospital, located west of St. Fjliza- 
I)eth's, is successfully maintained under the auspices of the 
Episcopal Church, but by donations from people of all denomi- 
nations. It does a noble and great work. The arrangement 
of its rooms makes it more like a private hospital and home 
than almost any institution I know. It is successful in the 
treatment of the sick, its doors are open to all conditions and 



The City of Utica. 2^ 

creeds of suffering humanity, and the amount of good accom- 
plished is so great that I regret that I can not mention the 
names of its many donors. But I am sure that I shall be 
pardoned if I mention the name of Truman K. Butler, whose gifts 
of lands and buildings have made so much good possible. 

The House of the Good Shepherd, in East Utica, incor- 
porated in 1872j for the care, maintenance and instruction of 
friendless, neglected or destitute cliildren, irrespective of age, 
sect, creed or condition. This institution is supported by our 
citizens, and has not room for all who apply for its care. 

Some time in the summer of 1853 a committee consisting of 
the late William Tracy, James Watson Williams and 11. H. 
Fish was appointed to mature plans and make specifications 
and estimates of cost of a suitable building for a City Hospital, 
to be submitted to the Common Council. The principal labor 
of this committee devolved upon Mr. Fish, who, after visiting 
the hospitals of other cities submitted the plan of our hospital 
on South street, which was adopted, and the buildings were 
subsecjuently erected under his joint supervision with the late 
Thomas Lane, for a little less than $14,000, showing the possi- 
bility of then securing fair equivalents in public as in private 
transactions. Some repairs and modifications have of course 
from time to time been made to adapt these buildings to 
changing exigencies of the service. But they still stand intact 
in their general features, and, after the lapse of more than a 
quarter of a century, give gratifying evidence (in the present 
condition of both material and workmanship) of the fidelity 
and skill of William Metcalf and the late James Brady, who 
built them. Here our Charity Commissioners have been able 
to greatly extend the field of their usefulness by introducing 
order and system and consequently securing economy in the 
administration of our charities. During the last year 191 
patients were received at this hospital. 

Faxton Hall, as it is called, cost about $12,000, in addition 
to the land upon which it is located, and was given by Mr. 
Faxton to the city for the benefit of the operacives of the Globe 
Woolen Company and Steam Cotton Mills, and foi' evening 
schools, lecture room and library. 

The beautiful mortuary chapel at the cemetery, which cost 
$15,000, was paid for by Mrs. Koxanna Childs, a daughter of 
Jason Parker, whose name I have already mentioned. 



28 Serui-Ccntcnnial of 

In addition to these charitable and benevolent societies, there 
are 19 others which I would like to present to your considera- 
tion on this occasion if time permitted. I have not even men- 
tioned the State Lunatic Asylum in our city, whicb is one of 
the largest public charities in this country. It was opened 
January 16, 1843, and has admitted vvnthin its walls 14,451 
patients bereft of reason, the most pitiable of all objects, but 
it has restored to reason 5,270. From its long and successful 
course, it has become the foremost institution of its kind in 
this country, and perhaps in the world. With its hundreds of 
patients, and with its attendants, it is like a village in popula- 
tion. Very few, even in our own midst, are aware of the amount 
of good accomplished by this great institution. 

I must not fail to mention our Savings Bank as one of the 
charitable institutions of Utica with its Devereux and Wil- 
liams and Childs and Denio and Wetmore and others. 

The benevolence which characterized the early history of 
Utica has not died out from among us. The beautiful spire of 
Grace Church, which points to heaven as the source of all 
charity, stands also to record the liberality of one who furnished 
the means to build it. In the winter of 1876 and 1877, when 
thousands of honest men were idle, one individual alone fed 
from 350 to 400 persons daily, from the 1st of January to the 
1st of March. Assembling in the twilight of those winter 
mornings, men, women and children came long distances for 
their warm morning meal and returned with their pails full for 
those at home. When the full light of the last day shall be 
shed upon the world, it will reveal thousands of charitable 
deeds now unknown. It is impossible in the ten minutes 
allowed me to mention even the names of those whose good 
works are well-known. We have but to lift our eyes heaven- 
ward and behold what a throng of just men made perfect, and 
what countless numbers of sainted women fill the vision of our 
recollection. 



The City of Utica. 2g 

HON. B. B. BURT. 

Chairman Bacon said he took pleasure in introduc- 
ing his old pupil, Hon. B. B. Burt, of Oswego, who 
would speak on "Our Sister Cities." Mr. Burt, after 
a brief introduction, said: 

I was not born in Oneida count}", but I was born in Onon- 
daga county when it joined Oneida on the west at Oswego. 
My father had a farm where is now the cit}' of Oswego, and I 
could look from this into Oneida county. I came to Utica in 
1836 and entered the law office of Kirkland & Bacon, and con- 
tinued there till July, 1837, when I was admitted to practice. 
I practiced in Oswego till 1841, and in 1844 returned to Utica. 
During that stay in Utica I gained many j^leasant recollec- 
tions. I became acquainted in the city very generally. I be- 
came acquainted with my wife and did my courting here, and 
that, if for no other reason, is why I have a strong attachment 
to Utica. In regard to our sister cities, I have learned one 
thing. Utica bears a very high position in the scale of the 
cities of the State of New York. There were only five 
cities incorporated in this State prior to Utica. They 
were New York, Albany, Troy, Hudson and Schenectady. In 
1832, the same year that Utica was incorporated, Buffalo was 
also incoi-porated. In 1834, Brooklyn, which has now 550,- 
000 inhabitants, had its charter. Kochester was incorporated 
the same year; Syracuse in 1847; Auburn and Oswego in 
1848; Poughkeepsie in ]854; Newburg and Lockport in 
1865: Ogdensburg in 1868; Eorae in 1870; Binghamton in 
1867; Kingston in 1872, and so on. There are now in the 
State of New York 23 cities ; 17 have been incorporated since 
CJtica was. I have been in all these cities and know some- 
thing of all of them. I think they compare favorably with 
the cities of any other state in the Union. I can speak more 
particularly of Oswego. Of Utica I can tell you little that is 
new. When I was born, Oneida county extended to the 
■Oswego river. You had a port of entry on Lake Ontario. 
The whole of northern New York comprised only two customs 
districts, which were formed in 1792. The first collector at 



JO Scmi-Cc7itcnnial of 

Oswego was an uncle of mine. He was appointed March 3, 
1793. I have in my pocket his commission signed by Thomas 
Jefferson and James Madison, and I prize it highly. For 
several years Oswego did not atnount to much as a collection 
office. The collections did not amount to enough to pay the 
collector's salary. Oswego county was organized and carved 
out of Oneida and Onondaga counties March 1, 1816, just 
sixteen years prior to the organization of your city. The cus- 
toms have increased from that small amount until last year 
they reached $1,100,000. Oswego is about the sixth or seventh 
port of entry in the United States. This speaks well of 
Oswego, which was formerlv your port of entry. I believe 
there is no better place to live in than Oswego to-day. With 
its fine water powers, large manufactories — 

Here the hammer fell amid the applause of the 
audience. 



HON. ELLIS H. ROBERTS. 

" The Mental and Industrial Activity of Utica " 
was the subject of Hon. Ellis H. Roberts, who was 
greeted with applause and spoke as follows . 

In sooth it was 

" A goodly place, a goodly time. 

For it was in the golden prime 

Of good Haroun Alraschid." 

The legend on your programme, copied from a medal issued 
at the time of the opening of the Erie canal, in 1824, claims 
that Utica was " inferior to no village in the western section 
of the state, in population, wealth, commercial enterprise, 
active industry and civil improvement." The claim at least 
indicates the standard which the inhabitants set up for them- 
selves. In 1532, the city, with 9,000 population, ranked third 
in the State, its assessed valuation was $2,672,575, its schools 
and churches were fully adequate to the demands, it was fore- 
most in establishing manufactures on the musical streams 
which rippled in its vicinity ; within its own borders it had a 



The City of Utica. 3/ 

marvelous diversity of industry, it was affluent irj voluntary 
organizations for culture and moral progress, and for intellec- 
tual breadth and vigor no part of the commonwealth surpassed 
it. We have now a population of 35,000, with an assessed 
valuation of $16,914,825, and we have inherited all that the 
brains and culture of that day sowed in this soil. 

We come here with a lai-ge measure, not to speak it profanely, 
of conceit in our well-being and in our reputation. -For myself 
I confess that I am proud of Utica. It was my cradle and it 
shall be my grave. The delectable mountains continue as fifty 
years ago to look down upon it from every side. The creeks 
still flow, perhaps with less charming melody as with less of 
volume, than then. We are still here in the Long House of the 
Iroquois, in the pathway of empire, and the growing current 
of the world's traffic passes our doors. We love the city, as we 
honor it in its Semi-Centennial Anniversary to-night, and we 
would decorate it and make it continually worthy of its early 
history. 

That was a notable community which dwelt here lifty years 
ago. The mental and industrial activity which those nine 
thousand men, women and children exhibited, is not often 
excelled in any land. What they did and what they were 
it requires some grasp of mind to appreciate. Out of their 
number arose the leaders in building telegraphs, in pushing the 
overland mail, in extending communication in many parts of 
the country, as here they centered for a while the stage routes 
of this part of the state when stages were the fastest ministers 
of travel. With 9,000 population, Utica had among its 
citizens, Parker, Faxton, Butterfield, Munson, and their fellows. 
Can we match them to-day in dash and courage, and that in- 
domitable will which compels success ? If we could do that, 
can we show their equals multiplied four-fold, as our greater 
population requires? The present rank of our cotton manu- 
factures in the world's markets is a source of worthy pride, 
and our woolen fabrics challenge comparison with the best 
anywhere produced. Our shoes make beautiful the feet of 
maidens all over the continent; and in men's clothing and knit 
goods the production is very large. But after these industries 
what has modern Utica to exhibit for the industrial achieve- 
ments of this generation ? Concede full credit to the revival 



■^2 Sem i- Cen ten n ia I of 

of manufactures now so manifest ; it is in cotton, in which 
Oneida county was a pioneer. This is well, but that prosperity 
is safest which after the fashion of half a century ago, rests on 
the broad base of diversified production. 

Let me not declare that there may not be to day in our 
streets, perhaps in this audience, some village Hampden, some 
Milton, yet mute and inglorious, who may hereafter 
" Read their history in a nation's eyes." 

But I do not see about us the temper and the spirit which 
elicited the wonderful activity and development of fifty years 
ago. The young men of those days were studious, thoughtful, 
■with talent which arose in many cases to genius. There were 
poets then whose productions may not have won fame, but 
they are like the song of Longfellow, 

" From beginning to end, 
Found again in the heart of a friend." 

No village of its size sent so many missionaries abroad to 
preach the gospel as the Utica of the half century past, and the 
names of Williams, Bennett and their associates adorn the 
martyr list. 

Fifty years ago Utica contained young men who are among 
the foremost in their vocations, not only here at home, but in 
all parts of the United States. F. S. Winston holds a rank at 
the head of one of the greatest institutions of this age. Edward 
Bright still adorns the profession which he entered upon here 
before our charter was adopted, and religious journalism may 
well honor him as one of its fathers. Henry Ivison, then a 
bookbinder here, now a prominent publisher in the metropolis, 
illustrates the intelligence and worth of the skilled mechanics 
of Utica's early days. E. D. Palmer, fifty years ago, among 
our residents, and soon to become a skillful model-maker, was 
doubtless beginning to dream of the Sleeping Peri, the White 
Captive, and the Angel at the Sepulcher, which were to crown 
him as a master in the art of sculpture. Time will not let us fol- 
low those who,in so man}' walks,have honored their old home,but 
recall this one fact. Among those who were boys here half a 
century ago, were developed professors in the universities of 
Yale, Harvard, Cornell, Madison, and the theological seminaries 
of Lane and Auburn. What other town of like size has such a 



The City of Utica. jj 

record ? All of these left us more than a genenitiou ag(), and 
all except one were natives here. It is at least curious that 
since the boys of the half century, Dana and Williams now at 
Yale, Gray at Harvard, Morris at Cornell, and Beebe at Madi- 
son, and Morris at Lane, and Upson at Auburn, Utica has 
furnished only two professors in any college — Lewis at Madi- 
son, and Mann at the Buft'alo Medical College. Such a change 
in the ratio is noteworthy, and suggests inquir\^ Will you tell 
me the cause ? 

Let me not disparage my neighbors, but can any one show 
me any such ratio of work and progress among our ^5,000 
people as that little band of fifty years ago presents ? Concede 
that the natural capacity is here. The institutions are lacking 
for its development. So the lire, the power, the spirit are not 
visible. You may tell me that mind is as fruitful here now as 
then ; that genius is as daring, as constructive, as progressive. 
The proof of the allegation is not forthcoming. 

I am not to trench upon the field assigned to others, and 
therefore do nothing more than allude to the glories of our Bar, 
and to the political record of the city in the recent past. That 
diversion explains in part the lack of candidates for distinction 
in other walks. But in estimating Utica of fifty years ago, re- 
member that out of 9,00o population blossomed these fiowers 
which in science, and literature, in self-sacrificing missionary 
service, in the sphere of productive industry and of material 
enterprise, you so much admire. 

We have grown in wealth, and luxury has come in full 
degree. Our industries have been concentrated. Our people 
have become cautious, and have fortified their position rather 
than attempted new ventures. Capital sleeps and is selfish. 
Talent is indolent or is self-seeking. Enterprise is timid and 
lacks foresight. Industry runs in ruts and is not creative. In 
some departments we have no need to be ashamed ; in or- 
ganized charities, as Mr. Seymour has so well told you, the 
best spirit of the fathers is preserved in its vitality. Of political 
influence the city has maintained its full share. Can we boast 
anything like the public spirit of the citizens of half a century 
ago? The secret of diversity of industry has been thrown 
away. The zeal for intellectual achievements for its own sake 
does not bear fruit, if it exists. 
c 



J 4 Scmi-Ccntcnnial of 

The age of Pericles gave to Athens its glory and its adorn- 
ments. After that period it began to totter towards its de- 
cadence. A city can not live on its reputation. Multiply b}' 
four the demands of Utica as they were in 1832, and this gene- 
ration must respond to them. Individual benefactions for the 
common good have not been too numerous in our days. Childs 
and Faxton were young men here fifty years ago. Who will 
follow them in liberality for culture and religion • and 
charit}-': Other cities, like Cincinnati, when wealth increases, 
find that some of the surplus is devoted to parks which beautify, 
to public edifices which educate and inspire, to libraries which 
are the arsenal and armory of intellectual training and con- 
quest. 

The half-century bids this generation arise and go forward. 
We cannot rival other cities in population. We can make 
Utica increasinglv the most attractive home in the land. We 
can cherish art and culture, while we add impetus to our pro- 
ductive industries. We can surround our youth with every 
influence which ennobles and elevates. We can set at work 
the causes which will call forth out of the callow elements 
about us the successors of those who in every place adorn the 
memory of Utica, and illustrate whatever is most beneficent 
and worthiest in mental and industrial activity. 

SENATOR KERNAN. 

The orchestra played, and then Chairman Bacon 

said the audience would have the pleasure of listening 

to our distinguished fellow citizen, Hon. Francis 

Kernan. The audience applauded and Senator 

Kern an spoke as follows: 

Ladies and Gentlemen —I thank the gentlemen who origi- 
nated and have arranged this commemoration of the birthday 
of the city of Utica. I heartil}^ approve of the practice of 
publicly celebrating important events in the history and prog- 
ress of our country. Such celebrations keep in memory the 
virtues of those who have passed from earth ; and they tend 
to stimulate the living to follow their example. 



The City of Utica. 35 

The character ol: a city, the estimation in which it is held, 
depends upon the characteristics and conduct of its people — 
upon the manner in which they discharge their private and 
public duties. 

Utica has been fortunate in the character of its people. I 
do not speak of those now living. We must be judged by 
those who succeed us. I speak of those who lived in Utica 
fifty years ago, and many years afterwards, but who have now 
passed from earth. As a whole, they so acted their part that 
they made for our beautiful city a reputation of which we ma}' 
justly be proud. They were a law-abiding, patriotic people. 
In every walk of life they exhibited intelligence, industry, 
energy and honesty. They were not wanting in zeal and lib- 
erahty for the prosperity of our city, and the spiritual and 
temporal welfare of its inhabitants. They never failed to re- 
spond generously to appeals to their charity and benevolence. 

I have been asked to speak briefly in reference to the Bar of 
the city of Utica, as it was when the city was organized. As 
a member of the legal profession and as a citizen of Utica, it 
gives me pleasure to do so. The Bar of Oneida County 
justly acquired at an early day a high character for learning, 
ability and integrity. Utica has contributed its full share of 
leading members of the legal profession in the country. 
Among those who resided in our city half a century ago, were 
Samuel Beardsley, Greene C. Bronson, Joseph Kirkland, Wil- 
liam H. Maynard, Hiram Denio, Joshua A. Spencer, William 
Curtiss Noyes, Thomas E. Clarke, Walter King, David Wager, 
Charles A. Mann, William Tracy, John Bradish, John H. 
Edmonds, Thomas H. Flandrau, J. Watson Williams, E. A. 
Wetmore. These are no longer living. They were able lawyers. 
They were honest, honorable members of our Utica bar. They 
did not pursue their profession in a mercenary spirit. Thej^ 
never encouraged needless litigation. They, with zeal and fidel- 
ity, sought what they believed to be justice for their clients by 
honest and honorable means — and by these means alone. 
Beardsley and Bronson was each attorney general for our state, 
and each of them was a justice of the supreme court of the State 
New York. Denio was the circuit judge and vice chancellor of 
of the fifth circuit for a number of years, and afterwards a 
judge, and also chief justice of the court of appeals of this 



3 6 Senii-Cciitcnnial of 

state. Beardsley, Bronson and Denio were learned, and just 
judges. Their monuments will be found in the records of the 
highest courts of our state. There are other distinguished 
members of the legal profession who were associates in Utica 
of those I have named. But they are still living and hence I 
do not speak of them. May it be long before we are called 
upon to mourn their loss. I will mention, however, two mem- 
bers of the Utica bar who were younger in the profession than 
those I have named, but who were largely associated with them 
during life and who sleep with them now. I refer to Alex- 
ander S. Johnson and Charles H. Doolittle. Each was a dis- 
tinguished and learned lawyer; each served upon the bench 
with usefulness to the public and with credit to himself. 

The gentlemen whom I have named were not only leading 
and honored members of the legal profession, they were esti- 
mable, public spirited and useful citizens of our city. They 
did their part in promoting its prosperity, and in giving to it 
the good repute which it enjoys. 

May we of the present generation do our duty as faithfully 
as our predecessors, and may our beautiful city during the 
next fifty years be even more prosperous and her people more 
ha}ipy than during the last half century. 



JOHN C. HOADLEY. 

In the absence of Mr. Fargo of Buffalo, who was 
to give congratulations, John C. Hoadley, of Boston, 
was called on. After a brief introduction Mr. Hoad- 
ley said : 

I cannot (piite claim to be a native of Utica. My eyes first 
opened to the light fifty miles from Utica, and about half a 
dozen years before I came here. But if memory be part of 
living, let me say that my memory first awoke wdien I came 
here. My memory goes back to the first of January, 1825, 
when the completion of the Erie canal was celebrated with 
fireworks. I remember the occasion when General JjaFayette 
passed through on a packet boat and how he patted on the 
head a boy who had acquired great skill in beating the snare 



The City of-Utica. 37 

drum. Utica was a small town then, but the stamp of progress 
was on it, which stamp it bears to-day. The lower end of 
Genesee street was a line place, as it is to-day. It is as much 
to-day as it was then. I recognize the front of the old 
Ontario Branch Bank. It would be unnecessary to say that 
in those days there were no railroads and telegraphs. There 
were even no matches ; even the old lucifer matches had 
not come into use. Utica had the old First Presbyterian 
Church. It is true another edifice occupies the site now ; but 
to me who saw the spire of the old First Presbyterian Church 
over the Deerfield hills, on my way to Potsdam school, and two 
years later in returning; to those of us who remember the old 
house as it stood in its grandeur, with its spire soaring up 
higher than any other has since ; to us nothing soared so near 
heaven as the spire of this church. I have since then stood 
under many domes and have seen the tall domes of the Yo 
Semite, but nothing soars so near heaven as the spire of that 
old church. 

It is about forty years since I left you, but I always carry 
around with me an atmosphere made up of the kindness, hospi- 
tality and generosity which I received from men who were 
then prominent in Utica. I remember General Kirkland, the 
first Mayor of Utica, and remember well his election. I re- 
member also Joshua A. Spencer, Samuel Beardsley, Samuel 
Farwell, Holmes Hutchinson, Dr. Peckham, Dr. McCallj and 
others. And wherever I go I remember their kind, courteous 
and generous recognition which has surrounded me like an 
atmosphere, and has given me confidence. I thank you for 
your attention, and shall carry away an enduring remembrance 
of this new kindness and courtesy on your part. [Applause.] 

HON. BE WITT C. GROVE. 

Judo^e Bacon said thev would now hear about "Our 
Early Publishers," from Hon. De Witt C. Grove, of 
the Observer. Mr. Grove spoke as follows : 

The earlv publishers of Utica, whom I am expected to com- 
memorate, were printers, moved by their own enterprise and 
encouraged by local |)ublic spirit, to establish newspapers in 



j8 ScDu-Ccntcnnial of 

new settlements, where readers were few and advertisers far 
between. They struggled for existence as best they could? 
their main purpose being, as with their successors, to make an 
honest living. To a great degree, they were their own editors, 
set their own type, mailed their own papers, and collected their 
own accounts. If a more promising field opened to them, they 
removed without hesitation and with little trouble. Many of 
their papers had but a short lease of life. The Whitestown 
Gazette^ our earliest newspaper, established at New Hartford, 
in 1793, was removed to Utica in 1798, and five years there- 
after was absorbed by a younger and more prosperous rival. 
The Utica Observer, established at Utica in 1816, was removed 
to Rome in 1818, becoming then the Oneida Observer. In 
1819 it came back to Utica and resumed its original name. 
Others changed pastures with equal facility, or dropped out of 
existence as quietly. The success of our early publishers is 
not to be measured by comparison with present standards, for 
the modern newspaper is essentially a modern creation. Of 
many of them little is remembered except their names and 
their good repute. But their work was useful, and recognized 
as such. The publisher was respected and honored. The 
business of printing was considered a profession. There is a 
professor of the art now living among us who remembers when 
he was asked if he " practiced '' printing. 

By the time Utica assumed the dignity of a city, however, 
the business of publishing had put on something of its modern 
character. Our newspapers, although small and issued but 
once a week, were journals of importance and reputation, read 
at home and quoted abroad. And there was also in Utica a 
lively development in the line of religious publications, which 
acquired large circulation and extended influence. The names 
of Northway, Dauby, and the Maynards, of Skinner and the 
brothers Grosh, of Deacon Bennett and his associates, and of 
the choice spirits who clustered about the office of the Friend 
of Man, are fresh in the recollection of those familiar with our 
early city life. I think it may truthfully be said of them all, 
that they were men well fitted for their respective tasks, men 
of excellent intentions and effective practice, that they made 
themselves felt within the community and were an influence 
for good without, and that they are entitled to a full share of 



T/ic City of Utica. jg 

the credit of establishing the character and reputation of Utica. 
Their example was good, and aliiected for good all who grew 
up within their influence. 

Generally the early publisher was his own editor, but in 
some cases others were employed, and frequently leading poli- 
ticians took a hand in editorial work — to advance their peculiar 
views or their personal interests. Sometimes this worked well. 
Politicians worked themselves into the legislature, and even into 
congress, through this instrumentality. In many more cases 
they missed the object at which they amied. Sometimes the 
outside editor got the concern into trouble. This misfortune 
happened to one Quartus Graves, a publisher who moved his 
paper here from Waterville in the early city days. In 1835 
his editorial help became infected with the abolition taint, 
which was unpleasant to some of our citizens, and they entered 
his office one afternoon and threw his printing materials out of 
the second-story window. Of course, tliis only resulted iti the 
early establishment of another and a stronger abolition print, 
but Quartus, the publisher, did not wait to see this come to 
pass ; he had departed to be seen here no more. I remember 
the matter well, since my earliest knowledge of printing was 
derived from picking some of his type from the gutter, where 
it became the common property of the street boys ; and I re- 
member it, also, as the only instance in our civic history where 
a publisher or his paper was maltreated for opinion's sake. 

Of course our early publishers sometimes received substan- 
tial tokens of the resj^ect of their fellow-citizens. The offices 
of county clerk and of postmaster were considered specially 
his fair perquisites, if he could get them. Sometimes he suc- 
ceeded ; generally he did not. But the idea that the news- 
paper was the best stepping stone to office was one that 
largely prevailed in the early days, and it is possible that it in- 
spired greater activity and better work. 

If any portion of the work of the early publishers is crit- 
icised ; if their papers seemed sometimes bigoted, intemper- 
ate in speech, personal even to abuse, and almost malicious in 
their treatment of opponents, we must remember that they but 
reflected the manners of their age, and furnished such nutri- 
ment as delighted their readers most. I think our fathers, as 
a rule, liked strong things better than we do. Perhaps they 



40 Scin i- Ccn ten n ia I of 

were more in earnest. But the earl}^ publishers of whom I 
speak, if rough in manner, were at least fortunate in avoiding 
personal taint. It is something of which we of the profession 
have a right to be proud, that from the earliest settlement of 
Utica no one of our publishers, political or religious, has 
stained his name with crime, or scandal, or fraud, or pecula- 
tion : and that each departed one has left only honored mem- 
ories. And we can wish no better fortune for ourselves, and 
for those who come after us, than to be remembered as pleas- 
antly as those who have gone before. 

Major J. L. Gartland played his " Favorite" cornet 
solo with magnificent efifect, and created considerable 
enthusiasm, which developed into long-continued ap- 
plause at its conclusion. 

OUR OLDEST XATIXK CITIZEN. 

Chairman Bacon then presented to the audience 
the venerable Liberty Powell, who was born in Utica 
86 years ago — remarking that he was a very well pre- 
served and fine-looking boy. The veteran was greeted 
with a double round of applause. 



DR. M. M. BAGG. 

Chairman Bacon said that Dr. Bagg would read a 
document known as " City Chronicles," a reminiscence 
connected with the first common council of the city 
of Utica, in 1832. 

This council consisted of Ephraim Hart, Charles 
A. Mann. Robert McBride, Rudolph Snyder, Ezra 
S. Barnum, Harvey Barnard, John Williams, Augustus 
Hurlburt, Chauncey Rowe, John A. Russ, John H. 
Ostrom, Rutger B. Miller. The charter officers were 



The City of Utica. 41 

Joseph Kirkland, Mayor; Ezra S. Cozier, treasurer; 
David Wager, city attorney ; and Thomas Colling, 
clerk. These latter were all chosen by the common 
council. The following account of the election was 
published at the time in the village paper, and was at- 
tributed to the pen of T. H. Flandrau: 

THE CHRONICLES OF THE GREAT CITY. 
CHAPTER I. 

1. And it came to pass wlien the people waxed fat and be- 
came j)nffed up with pride and vanity that the}' said one to 
another, let us make unto us a city, that the fame of us may 
be great through the land. 

2. And thc}^ arose with a great noise, and with tumult, and 
made them a city, and named it a name, and became great in 
their own ej^es. 

3. Then said they let us choose unto us rulers to rule over 
us, great men of the city, learned scribes and mighty warriors, 
and they did so. 

4. Twelve rulers, three from the north, and three from the 
south, and three from the east, and three from the west, chose 
they unto themselves. 

5. Now these are the names of the rulers — Harvey, wlio 
was a cunning workman in tapestry and fine linen, and 
wrought in adorning men's houses. 

6. Charles, the son of Abijah, of the sect of the Pharisee, 
and he was a man without a wife, albeit no woman would 
marry with him. 

7. John, otherwise called the crafty, who was a strange man, 
and no one knew whence he came, and he dealt in spices and 
was a hoarder of pieces of silver and of pieces of gold. 

8. Rudolph, sur-named the obstinate, who was a man after 
his own heart, neither hearkened he to anv one lest perad- 
venture he should unawares do a wise thing. 

9. Ezra, the peacemaker, of the tribe of Levi, who was 
aforetime a ruler of the people. 

10. John, the Centurion, who tarried near the stump, a 



^2 Scmi-Ccntcmiial of 

leader of hosts ;ind u man of valor — liowbeit certain of the 
people doubted thereof. 

11. Channcey, the quiet, a trafficker in the notions of the 
east, yet of him no man knew ought save that he came from 
a far country. 

12. Ephraim, the tinker, who abode in the land of the Hud- 
dle and dwelt among publicans and sinners. 

13. Augustus, who was reckoned among the wise men of 
the city, for as much as he held his peace and no man knew 
ought to the contrary. 

14. Robert, the delver, who wrought in pools and was a 
digger of dee}) ditches, inasmuch as great vessels floated 
thereon. 

15. Hutger, the law maker, chosen in the stead of Hiram 
Ben Israel, whom the people had cast forth from the synagogue. 

16. And John, the carpenter, who dwelt near the outermost 
gate of the city. 

17. Now when the rulers gathei'ed together to counsel one 
with the other, they said let the doors be fastened within and 
without and let the windows be closed that no man may enter 
in, lest the people shall see our folly and shall laugh us to 
scorn, 

18. And when they had fastened the doors, then said they 
among themselves let us choose a chief man to preside over 
us, yet agreed they not who should be chosen. 

19. For some said Ezra and some Henry and some Jose- 
phus, and some Joseph, yet did they not agree who it should 
be, so they cast lots, and it fell upon Joseph. 

20. Then proclaimed they aloud that they had chosen 
Joseph to be a chief over them ; and when they had done so, 
they said let us choose unto us a ready scribe, who shall write 
down in a book those things which we shall do, that the peo- 
ple may know thei'eof. 

21. And some said let it be John, who was scribe aforetime, 
and some said Henry, because he had besought them in thei 
matter. 

22. Then arose Ephraim, the tinker, and lifted up his voice 
and said, not so ; let it not be John, nor yet let it be Henry, but 
let it be Thomas, I pray you, for he has entreated earnestly 
with me concerning this thing, that he should be scribe, and is 



The City of Utica. 43 

also of kin to me, in that he has taken my handmaid to wife 
wherefore I have promised him that he shoukl be scribe ; now 
therefore, let him be the man, that my word may not be of 
none effect ; and when Ephraim had said these things he made 
an end of speaking. 

23. (Now Thomas was a man who had sojourned in the 
islands beyond the sea, \vhich lie toward the rising of the sun ; 
wherefore the multitude called him Veridicus, which being in- 
terpreted signifieth Longbow.) 

24. Then the rulers after they had consulted together, said 
unto Ephraim, asy ou have spoken so be it, nevertheless charge 
Thomas strictly that he put not down his own words, lest 
when the people shall come to look upon it, they say, behold 
it is a lie. 

25. And when they had done this, then said they let us 
choose a great man, one learned in the law to counsel with us^ 
that what we do may be done with great wisdom, and all the 
rulers said, who shall it be ? 

26. Then arose Charles, and spake ulito the rulers, saying, 
wot ye not of David of Gath, who is a man of mine 
household, and how that by reason of his great stature, he 
holds the place of him called Justus. Verily, if ye shall 
choose him ye shall do well, and so shall I reap great profit for 
well know I that he will divide unto me the things whereof 
he shall make gain. 

27. Now, David was of the seed of Goliah, and the measure 
of his stature was of this sort : From the crown of his head to 
his shoulder, half a cubit; and from his shoulder to his loins 
two cubits, and from his loins downward fourteen cubits. 

28. And when Charles had done speaking the rulers an- 
swered and said unto him, let it be as thou hast spoken. 

29. And it came to pass that when they had chosen Thomas 
and David, that they would have chosen a man worthy of 
trust, to keep the treasure of the city, and they knew not 
wkom they should choose. 

30. Now there was a certain high priest of the city, named 
Ezra, who was loved of the people, and the people would that 
the rulers should have chosen him to be the chief man of the 
city. 



44 Scnii-Ccntcmiial of 

31. Therefore, said the rulers one to another, the people would 
that we should have chosen this Ezra to be the chief man of the 
city and we have chosen Joseph ; now let us choose Ezra to 
keep the treasure of the city, lest the people murmur and great 
evil befal us : and they did so. 

32. Now the other acts of the rulers of the great city, shall 
they not be wn-itten ? 

Many of the audience recognized the hits in the 
chronicles and were much pleased with them. 



GENERAL JAMES McQUADE. 

On appearing to speak of "The Military History 
of Utica," General McOuade was greeted with applause. 
He said : 

Honored Chairman^ Ladies and Gentlemen : 

Not until within the past forty-eight hours, was I advised of 
the desire to have me speak upon themilitai-y history of Utica. 
The theme is one so suggestive, so deserving of greater con- 
sideration than can be accorded in the brief period to which 
responses are limited this evening, that I distrust my ability to 
do it justice. Even had the time allotted for preparation 
been more extended, I doubt whether I could treat the subject 
in a manner commensurate with its merit. I shall not attempt, 
therefore, to do more than to present, with some comments, 
entirely devoid of elocutionary pretense, a list, hastily gathered, 
of those who held commissions in the Union army, during the 
war for the suppression of the rebellion. This list is necessarily 
incomplete, for I have had no opportunity to examine records, 
and have been compelled to trust to my own memory, aided 
b}^ such fortuitous inquiry as chance meetings in the streets 
afforded. 

I shall premise with a cursory glance at the historv of 
military organizations before the war, for it was in these that 
was engendered and fostered the soldierly spirit wdiich 
responded to the country's call \\\ the hour of peril with a 
promptness, zeal and enthusiasm unexcelled in any city of the 



The City of Utica. ^^ 

Union. My recollection of the military of Utica does not 
reach back to the efficient militia which existed prioi' to the 
period of independent companies. Some of you may recollect 
that in the earlier days, while the inspiration of the last war 
with Great Britain still lingered, the militia was well equipped 
and that a certain degree of discipline obtained. The militia 
that I remember had greatly deteriorated, military duty was 
performed in a loose, shambling and disjointed way ; the force 
lacking that firmness and cohesion which can only be acquired 
by constant drill and faithful performance of military exercises. 
Our defenders were then commonly known as the " floodwood 
militia." The letter of the law was regarded, so far as the 
assemblage at stated periods of those liable to duty was con- 
cerned, but in the matter of the arms and equipments enjoined, 
there was a lamentable breach of observance. Instead of ap- 
pearing " armed and equipped as the law directs " — which was 
the language of the warning — umbrellas were often substituted 
for firearms, walking sticks for bayonets, while the powder- 
horn was represented by a flask, which, although capable of 
pi'oducing a " horn," was useless as a receptacle to keep the 
powder dry. Two days in the year were devoted to the acqui- 
sition of knowledge of the art of war. The first was the com- 
pany muster, where each contingent assembled at some place 
within the military district, and the other, the regimental 
muster or general training. The largest company in Utica (ex- 
cepting perhaps the Fourth) was that of the first ward, which 
mustered in front of Trinity church. Mott. Brown, a member 
of the Corps, familiarly known as " Old Eosin the Bow," was 
captain. I think B. F. Eay and Fred. Fargo were lieutenants. 
I used to sit on the steps of Samuel Stocking's house, directly 
opposite, and view with rapt admiration the quavering and un. 
certain line of doughty warriors, in shirt sleeves and straw hats, 
who, after answering to roll-call, were wont to slip around the 
corner '' to see a man," 

The general training, however, was quite an imposing dem- 
onstration. Here was some semblance of organization. As a 
rule, the levies from the verdant hdls of Deerfield wore impro- 
vised uniforms, and were the objects of special youthful com- 
mendation. They had black beaver hats of the stovepipe 
pattern, embellished with cockades, and their shoulders were 



^6 Semi-Ccntciuiml of 

ornamented with epaulets of sheepskin. Then they carried 
muskets and powder horns, which, in a military point of view, 
possess certain advantages over canes and umbrellas. These 
exceptionally fine soldiers were described bj' the envious and 
sarcastic floodwoodery of the city, as the Deerfield rangers- 
At the general training, there was an enormous consumption of 
sweet cider, gingerbread and lioney in the comb. It was a 
great da\^ for the boys. 

When even perfunctory compliance with theobigation to do 
military duty had passed into desuetude, and militia parades 
became farcical, there sprang up the independent military 
companies, the precursors of the present national guard system ; 
the school in which was taught that familiarity with arms 
which proved so advantageous to the Union cause when the 
land was plunged into actual warfare. 

First deserving of mention, for it is nearly as old as the 
chartered city itself, is the Utica Citizens Corps This noble 
company has for forty -five years maintained its efficient organi- 
zation, and exhibited a martial proficiency and decorous deport- 
ment which justl}^ entitle it to the high place it has always held 
in the estimation of the citizens of Utica. Perhaps to say that 
it maintained its organization for forty-five years is not strictly 
correct. One April morning, in the year 1861, it disappeared 
from the streets of Utica, and emerged at the rendezvous in 
Albany as Company A, 14th Eegiment New York Volunteers, 
enlisted to fight for the Union. But it reorganized after the 
war, and has flourished vigorously ever since, retaining its old 
traditions, proud of its renown, exemplifying in an eminent 
degree the close affinity of the soldier and the gentleman. 

The Corps made its first parade in the year 1837, under the 
command of Major E. K. Barnum, U. S. A. Its captains in suc- 
cession were W. W. Backus, H. R Hart, Alvin White, Edward 
Broadwell, James McQuade and C. A. Johnson. For three 
years before the war, an officer was elected to command who 
declined to serve, and, the company refusing to elect any one in 
his stead, the command devolved upon Lieutenant Horace 
Barnard. At the reorganization. Colonel T. M. Davies was 
elected captain ; he was succeeded in turn by Captain James 
Miller, John H. Douglass and Major D. T. Everts, who is the 
present cornmander. 



The City of Utica. 4 J 

The day after the firing upon Fort Sumter, the Corps offered 
its services to Governor Morgan, and subsequently organized 
as a company of volunteers under the first call for troops. The 
tender of services was made by resolution, as follows : 

Whereas. It is the duty of every citizen to respond prompt!}' to the cal^ 
of the countr}' for aid ; therefore. 

Resolved, That the Utica Citizens' Corps hereby tender their services to 
the Governor of this state as volunteers to join any force that may be raised 
to meet the demand of the general government for forces against the traitors 
in the South. 

Resolved, That the Corps will be ready to march at forty-eight hours 
notice, fully armed and equipped. 

H. Barnard. Lieutenant Commandim], 

J. F. McOuADE, First Sergeant. 

The order for the departure of the company marks an event 
that will live long in the memory of the spectators. 

The Corps was the nucleus of the 14th Regiment New York 
Volunteers, which, before it received its numerical designation, 
was described as the Corps Regiment. United with it were 
the Washington Continentals, (Co. B) Lafaj^ette Rifles, (Co. C) 
and Seymour Artillery, (Co. E.) 

A ROLL OF HONOR. 

The roll of the Corps, from its organization to the present 
time, bears the names of the following officers who lield com- 
missions in the Union army : 

Maj. General Daniel Butterfield, colonel U; S. A. 

Bvt. Major General J. W. Fuller. 

Bvt. Major* General James McQaade. 

Bvt. Major General J. J. Bartlett. 

Brigadier General J. H. Ledlie. 

Brigadier General J. H. Oley. 

Brigadier General N. G. Williams. 

Bvt. Brigadier General C. A. Johnson. 

Bvt. Brigadier General W. H. Christian. 

Bvt. Brigadier General W. W. Robbins. 

Colonel Alvin White, 117th N. Y. Y. 

Colonel R. C. Enright, 63d N. Y. Y. 

Colonel J. F. McQuade, A. D. C. 5tli Army Corps. 

Bvt. Colonel F. X. Meyers, 117th N. Y. V. 

Lieutenant Colonel W. H. Reynolds, 14th N. Y. A. 



^8 Scnii-Ccntcnuial of 

Bvt. Colonel T. M. Davies, 14th N. Y. V. 
Lieutenant Henry Fowler, 63d N. Y. N . 
Lieutenant Colonel J. C, Bronson, o7tli N. Y. V. 
Bvt. Lieutenant Colonel Egbert Bagg, UTtli N. Y. V. 
Bvt. Lieutenant Colonel J. Stuart Lowerj, 146th N. Y. V. 
Bvt. Lieutenant Colonel D. F. Ritchie, 1st N. Y. A. 
Major T. F. Lynch, 63d N. Y. V. 
Major D. T. Everts, 89th N. Y. V. 
Major N. Garrow Throop, 57th N. Y. V. 
Captain W. R. Brazie, 14th N. Y. V. 
Captain G. T. Hollingworth, 14th N. Y. Y. 
Captain G. A. Reynolds, 14th N. Y. A. 
Captain T. H. Bates, (14th N. Y.) 1st K Y. A. 
Captain T. J. Sawyer, Jr., (14th N. Y.) 47th N. Y. V. 
Captain A. G. Bice, (14th N. Y.) 92d IST. Y. V. 
Captain G. W. Cone, (14th N. Y.) 146th N. Y. V. 
Captain C. B. Mervine, (14th N. Y.) and A. A. G. 5th Corps. 
Captain M. McC^uade, Jr., (14th N. Y.) and A. D. C. 5th 
Corps. 

Captain E. A. Tallman, (14th N. Y.) and 24th N. Y. Cav. 

Captain R. P. Egan, 14th N. Y. Cav. 

Captain Samuel Stocking, (14th N. Y.) and 25th N. Y. Y. 

Captain S. Walter Stocking, (14th N. Y.) 1st N. Y. A. 

Brevet Captain W. Wright, 146th N. Y. V. 

Brevet Captain A. G. Spencer, 14th N. Y. V. 

Rrevet Captain James Miller, 14th N. Y. V. 

Brevet Captain John O'Brien, 14th N. Y V. 

Lieutenant William K. Bacon, (14tli N. Y.) 26th N. Y. Y. 

Lieutenant John O'Neil, (14th N. Y.) 3d N. Y. A. 

Lieutenant G. W. Abbey, 14th N. Y. Y. 

Lieutenant E. H. Lloyd, 14th N. Y. Y. 

Lieutenant G. W. Griffith, 14th N. Y. Y. 

Lieutenant Henry Purcell, (14th N. Y.) 13th N. Y. A. 

Lieutenant E. Woodward, 2d N. Y. A. 

Lieutenant R. D. Crocker, 14th N. Y. V. 

Lieutenant J. Augustus Curry, 14th N. Y. Y. 

Lieutenant A. B. Grunwell, 14th N. Y. Y. 

Lieutenant John S. Hunt, 4th \j. S. Artillery. 

Lieutenant A. J. Heffron, I4th N. Y. Y. 

Major J. E. West, Surgeon. 



The City of Utica. 4g 

Major E. Hutchinson, Surgeon. 

Brevet Major W. Brodhead, Q. M. 14:th N. Y. V. 

Lieutenant W. E. Richards, Q. M. 117th N. Y. V. 

Lieutenant A. Marquisee, 117th N. Y. V. 

Lieutenant C. M, Scholefield, Paymaster U. S. A. 

And in the Navy : 

Admii'al Melancthon Woolsey, U. S. Navy. 

Assistant P. M. Frank Bissell, U. S. Navv. 

So far as can be ascertained, there was but one member of the 
Corps in the Confederate service — Elisha Rogers, who served 
with Stonewall Jackson and attained the rank of Brigadier 
General. 

I have devoted so much time to this company because it is 
an independent, distinctively Utica organization. It has ex- 
isted through all vicissitudes of the past and promises a long 
career of prosperity in the future. The history of the Corps 
is part of the history of Utica. Indeed there are few places 
of business on Genesee street which have not at some time 
contributed to its membership ; few of the older families which 
have not had representatives in its ranks. The surviving 
members of the original Corps of 1 S37 are : Grove Penny, 
William N. Weaver, George Westcott, Thomas J. Newland 
and Albert Spencer, of Utica ; W. W. Backus , of Brooklyn ; 
John Bryan, of New York ; William C. Johnson, of Newbury- 
port, Mass., and Stephen O. Barnum, of Buffalo. 

Albert Spencer, who made the first parade with the Corps, 
is still a I'egular attendant at the convivial meetings, and, 
although he can no longer shoulder a musket, he is not a 
veteran who " lags superfluous on the stage," but one who 
retains the ardent warmth of a youthful heart under the snows 
of a "frosty pow." He paraded with the Corps of '37; his 
son fought with the Corps of '61. 

There were other excellent independent companies in Utica 
which were most creditable organizations during their existence, 
and formed valuable recruiting agencies for the Corps ; that 
company absorbing many of the members after their disband- 
ment. The first in seniority, I believe, was the Light Guard, 
commanded by Captain W. H. Chase. There are many here 
who will remember that this company excelled in skirmishing 
and street-firing. On one occasion, while practicing firing on 

D 



^o Semi-Centennial of 

Genesee street, the waggish druggist, Uriel Kellogg, shot off 
the plume of William Stanton's hat, to show his proticiency as 
a marksman. General H. Se3^mour Lansing, of the Union 
Army, was an officer in the Light Guard. 

Time will not permit me to do more than mention the other 
companies in a desultory manner. There was the Union 
Guard, organized by Sergeant McNab, a recruiting officer for 
the regular army, stationed here. The captain was W. L. 
Cowan, afterwards a captain in the litli Regt., N. Y. Vols.; the 
Emmett Guard, Capt. John Flanagan ; the City Guard, Capt. 
James Mapes. Capt. M. Cossleman, 26ih N. Y. Y., killed at 
second Bull Run, belonged to this company. The Washington 
Continentals, Capt. R K Richardson, Colonel 26th N. Y. Y. 
(Bvt. Brig. Gen. R. Daggett was in the Continentals;) the Sey- 
mour Artillery, Bvt. Lieut.-Col. Lewis Michaels, Bvt. Major 
Edward Warr, and Capt. A. Sears, all of the Uth N. Y. Y., 
belonged to this company. The LaFa^'ctte Rifles, Capt. F. 
Harrer, killed at Gaines' Mills, while commanding Co. C. 14th 
N. Y. Vols. Col. Peter Claesgens belonged to the Rifles ; also 
Lieut. Smith and Lieut. Alfater. The L^tica Grenadiers, 
Capt. A. Brendle, 26th N. Y. Y. 

There was a company of cadets, Capt. Jedediah Tallinan, 
which was succeeded by another juvenile company, the Colum- 
bian Artillery, Capt. J. L. Beardsley, who lost his arm while 
firing a salute from the corps' gun on Chancellor Square one 
4th of July. Bose Roberts was another unfortunate who lost 
his arm on the occasion. There are but seven survivors of the 
Columbian Artillery : Harvey Barnard, Dr. C. B. Foster, 
Irvin A. Williams, G. H. Snyder, J. E. B. Thorn, T. R McQuade 
and the speaker. The appearance of the company as flying- 
artillery elicited much comment. Recentl}^ we had the Adju- 
tant Bacon Cadets, Capt. O'Donnell. 

In addition to the names I have mentioned connected with 
the several independent companies, I have gathered the follow- 
ing, who held commissions in the army during the war : 

General James A. Mulligan, of Lexington, Mo., fame. 
Brevet Brigadier General W. R. Pease. 
Brevet Lieutenant Colonel James McQuade, 63d N. Y. 
Brevet Colonel A. Churchill, surgeon 14th N. Y. \'. 
Colonel John H. Howell, 3d N. Y. A. 



The City of Utica. 5/ 

Brevet Lieutent Colonel C. H. Ballou, 39th N. Y. Y. 

Captain J. F. Kerrigan, llTtli N. Y. Y. 

Captain E. 0. Jones, 146th N. Y. V. 

Captain J. F. Bates, A. D. C. 3d Corps. 

Captain Enoch Jones, 2Gth N. Y. Y. 

Captain W. E. Mercer, 3d N. Y. A. 

Captain George Klinck, 2d N. Y. A. 

Captain C. K. Baker, 100th N. Y. Y. 

Captain Harrison Pease, 117th N. Y. Y. 

Captain G. W. Ledlie, 16th N. Y. A. 

Brevet Major Louis Faas, 14th N. Y. A. 

Captain N. W. Palmer, 26th K Y. Y. 

Major C. J. Hill, surgeon 91st N. Y. Y. 

Major H. H. Curran, 146th N. Y. Y. 

Captain H. W. Fowler, 1 6th N. Y. A. 

Major W. B. Coventry, surgeon 26th N. Y. Y. 

Captain C. K. Button, 146th N. Y. Y. 

Captain Wilham Fowler, A. D. C, 5th Corps. 

Captain H. R. Lahee, 14th K Y. Y. 

Lieutenant M. M. Jones, 2d N. Y. A. 

Lieutenant W. H. Ellis, 14th K Y. Y. 

Lieutenant J. M. Latimore, 16th N. Y. A. 

Lieutenant C. L. Buckingham, 146th N. Y. V. 

Lieutenant J. A. McDonough, (14tli N. Y.) 78tli N. Y. Y. 

Lieutenant H. H. Timerman, 16th K Y. A. 

Lieutenant J. T. Kingsbury, 26th N". Y. Y. 

Lietenant James Handwright, (14th N". Y.) 146th N. Y. Y. 

Lieutenant Hugh Duffy, I4th N. Y. Y. 

Lieutenant Noah Wadhams Rae, Illinois Regt 

Lieutenant B. F. Miller, 117th N. Y. Y. 

J. C. Farrer, 14th N . Y. Y. 

Captain Dodge, 146th N. Y. Y. 

Captain Lewis, 146th N. Y. Y. 

Lieutenant W. J. Hunt, (14th N. Y.) 117th N. Y. Y. 

Captain Smith, 26th K Y. Y. 

H. C. Matteson, P. M. 

George Poraeroy, P. M. 

Alrick Hubbeli, P. M., 14th N. Y. Y. 

C. E. Hewes, chaplain 14th N. Y. Y. 

Rev. D. W. Bristol, chaplain 26th N. Y. Y. 



§2 Scmi-Ccntonual of 

Lieutenant William Abner Hopkins, 97th N. Y. V. 

Lieutenant S. H. Beckwith, U. S. Mil. Tel. 

It would be impossible to make a list of the non-commis- 
sioned officers and privates from Utica who served their 
country gallantly. They are too numerous. But this array of 
officers demonstrates how valuable was the contribution of en- 
listed men ; and I take occasion to say here that the private 
soldier who discharged his duty faithfully is entitled to equal 
merit with the officer. It was the fidelity and devotion, not the 
rank, that deserves praise. A good corporal is worthier of 
commendation than a poor major general. Our war was not a 
triumph of generalship, but success crowned the indomitable 
pluck, fortitude and endurance of the intelligent rank and file. 

I have made here no mention of the National Guard, which 
has always borne an excellent reputation, from the days when 
the orderly 45th regiment was evolved from the chaotic 184th, 
until this sad epoch of disbandment. The record is so mixed 
up with that of the independent companies that it is difficult to 
dissever the components. Nor have I gone back to the days of 
the rifle company, in which Jesse W. Doolittle and John H. 
Ostrom were officers. I might speak of the Mexican war, 
where Captain Walrath and Lieutenant (now General) C. A. 
Johnson served with the 10th United States Infantry, John S. 
Reed, of the corps, being 1st sergeant. Henry Perry also served 
there, in McClellan's Corps of Engineers, as well as Michael 
Donalty. General Christian went out with Stephenson's Cali- 
fornia regiment. But I must forbear or I will get back to the 
war of 1812, with reminiscences of our lately-departed friends, 
T. S. Faxton and Leonard Moore. Thurlow Weed was a prin- 
ter in Utica when he went to Sacketts Hai'bor in 1813. 

In its military history, Utica presents a brilliant record. 
Here were organized the 14th, 26th, 117th and 146th regi- 
ments, and, to some extent, the 97th regiment of New York 
Volunteers. The 2d Artillery was also partially recruited in 
Utica ; as were Bates' Battery, companies of the 14th Artillery, 
16th Artillery, 24tli Cavalry, the 57th Lifantry and others. It 
would not be becoming for me, perhaps, to speak in laudation 
of the services of Oneida regiments, nor to individualize gallant 
deeds. While Utica furnished no renowned soldiers to em- 
blazon the pages of history with the glor}^ of distinguished 



The City of Utica. 53 

achievements, it may be said that those who went from here did 
their devoir, wherever they were placed, with unswerving fideli- 
ty and unflinching heroism. The names of Bacon, who left the 
studious retreats of peaceful Hamilton, a mere stripling, to 
shoulder a musket in the ranks of the Corps when it volun- 
teered for the war, and died on the field of honor, adjutant of 
the 26th Kegiment ; of faithful Griffith, who fell with his face 
to the foe at Malvern Hill ; of Lloyd, whose bones lie moulder- 
ing on the spot where a bullet stopped the beating of his noble 
heart ; of impetuous Harrer, shot while leading his men to the 
charge ; of the chivalrous Carran, the dashing Throop, Buck- 
ingham, Rae, Cossleman — all these are forever enshrined in the 
grateful memory of Utica. The bloody fields of Gaines' Mills, 
Fredericksburg, Fort Fisher, Gettysburg, of the Peninsula and 
the Wilderness, attest the valor and devotion of Utica soldiers. 
And in the magnificent fabric of the histor}^ of the war for the 
union is interwoven a strand of imperishable luster — the mili- 
tary history of the city of Utica. 



REV. DR. ISAAC S. HARTLEY. 

The sentiment "Our Late Comers," was responded 
to by the Rev. Isaac S. Hartley, D.D., who spoke as fol- 
lows : 

A few years ago a noble ship, under fall canvass, was 
skirting along the sandy coast of South America bound for 
her northern home. With her wide spreading sails and 
whitened hull, she appeared like some fabulous albatros, alter- 
nately plowing and plunging through the crested waves, 
seeking her daily food. Far, far to the east lay the arid shores 
of Africa ; while some fifty miles or so to the west, were the 
fragrant meadows of Brazil. As she sped on her course, bound- 
ing and careering, suddenly the air became tilled with the 
sweetest music; so sweet, so loud, so full that for the moment 
the helmsman let go the wheel, and abandoned the craft to 
herself. Recovering himself he grasped anew the wheel, and 
as she again received her course, again and again were heard 
the same sweet sounds. Though the brave steersman had 



5/ Se7ni-Centcnnial of 

become bronzed by his experiences among the warm waters 
of the tropics, never before had he heard such sweet 
music amid the restless billows of the sea. A few months later 
he learned, that on that very day and at that very hour, imme- 
diately abreast his course, convent bells had been tolling the 
beginning of a religious festival. As a strong westerly wind 
bore the music across the water, the bended sails of the ship 
catching the sounds delivered them to that steersman, almost 
with the same fullness as they fell upon the ears of those whom 
they awoke to religious joy and thanksgiving. 

In some such manner, may I say, has it been with me as I 
have been listening to the remarks and memories of the long 
line of worthies who have preceded me. As in imagination I 
traveled with them along the shores of fifty years ago, I heard 
5-ounds quite as sweet as convent bell ever rung out ; and of 
those whose forms I never knew, whose voices I have never 
heard, and whose hands I have never grasped. 

Fifty years ago ! what a period! and during their revolution 
how marked the changes ! Fifty years ago France was Bourbon, 
Germany and Italy largely Austrian, and continental Europe 
under the dominion of the miscalled " Holy Alliance." Fifty 
years ago there were no steamships, no ocean cables, no tele- 
graphs, no telephones, no sewing machines, and but few of the 
many arts now in daily use. Fifty years ago the hero of New 
Orleans occupied the Presidential chair, and numerous were 
the pilgrimages made to the old Hermitage. Fifty years ago 
but four and twenty jewels glistened in our national coronet, 
and the population of the United States was less than twelve 
millions. Fifty years ago Mexico was possessed of our richest 
beds of gold and silver, and petroleum, v.-ith all its magnificent 
dyes, lay undisturbed in its slimy bed. 

Here in our own city, fifty years ago, the place on which these 
memories are being rehearsed v.-as quite upon the outskirts of 
the town. Then, but few of our streets were paved ; and only 
here and there along our sidewalks grew the elm and maple to 
shade the busy civilian or the traveler as he journeyed. The 
flash of gas was nowhere seen, nor did the water mains as living 
streams lace and interlace our thoroughfares, nor was there a 
single fountain to throw high in air the cooling spray. There 
were no homes for the homeless, no hospitals for the sick, no 



The City of Utica. ^^ 

retreats for the aged, nor asylums for the young. Thus might 
I continue. These honored men, whose glow and life the artist 
has caught, and who, as I speak, are looking down upon us 
from the silent canvass, were here and as active in life as have 
been their children. 

But what changes have these passing years wrought? Few 
of the many that were then brave and venturesome remain ; 
and from a village we have grown to the proportions of a pros- 
perous city. Among all the cities in this vast republic we are 
first in health, while in loyalty, benevolence, stability, culture, 
and in all that constitutes abiding progress, we have but few 
supei'iors. And dear fathers and brethren, under God, to none 
are we more indebted than to you — you who have livet] among 
us for fifty years and whose personal counsel and unwavering 
zeal and devotion have made us what we are. Grand and rich 
and influential have been the cities which have dotted our 
globe, but no city makes its citizens ; it is the citizens that 
make the city. As is the seed, so is the bloom and the fruit. 

But I have no time to speak as 1 should, and as this happy 
occasion so naturally demands. Let me then say, in the name 
of those whom I have the honor this evening to represent, that 
with a true and full heart we thank you for the wisdom, and 
zeal, and faithfulness which you have so plainly exhibited in 
the past, and for bequeathing to us your immediate successors, 
such a noble heritage. We thank you for guarding our liber- 
ties, for securing to us so many blessings and privileges, for the 
homes, and hospitals, and asylums, and numerous other chari- 
ties which 3'ou have founded in our midst ; for your courage, 
your devotion and your thoughtfulness; in a word, for devis- 
ing and continuing in successful operation those numerous and 
happy forces which have given the city of Utica throughout our 
broad country such a fair and enviable name. I can only say, 
in return for your loyal and loving labors, that we who are be- 
hind you will endeavor to guard most zealously the great in- 
terests entrusted to us, and so to conduct ourselves as to merit 
not only your approbation, but a kind remembrance also by 
those who are to be our successors. And now as symbolizing 
the victory which you have achieved, and as a pledge likewise 
that " the late comers " shall preserve green the memories of 
this hour, and of your toil and devotion, permit me, Mr. Presi 



^6 Sc7ni-Cciitcnnial of 

dent, as most wortliiW representing those over whom \'ou now 
so happily preside, to lay upon your honored aud reverend 
head this liumble wreath of laurel. May God grant that, w4ien 
you and I and the many whom we unitedly represent are called 
upon to leave this city — the city in which you have })assed 
more than three score 3'ears — and the ohXj of my adoption, it 
may be to pass within the pearly gates of that upper city, 
wdiere brows are crowned with sparkling gems, and whose 
serene atmosphere throbs with greetings joyous and innumera- 
ble. 

A HAPPY THOUGHT. 

The enthusiasm which followed Dr. Hartley's unex- 
pected crowning Judge Bacon, the venerable chair- 
man, with a wreath of laurel, was one of the remarka- 
ble incidents of the evenir^g. The doctor's address 
was beautiful in thought and it was delivered with re- 
markable effect. Judge Bacon had no suspicion of 
what was to follow, and was so much affected that he 
could not speak. Round after round of applause fol- 
lowed. Professor Lombard and the orchestra took up 
the notes as they were dropped by the ladies and gen- 
tlemen, and played the farewell selection — Raschcr 
Entschhiss. 

Judge Bacon then declared the symposium at an 
end and expressed the hope that all had enjoyed the 
reunion and reminiscences of days that were hallowed 
by happy memories. 

The exercises closed at 10:50 p. m. 





THIRD MAYDF-. 
ThE First BlEcted hy the PenplB 



The City of Utica. 57 

LETTERS RECEIVED. 

FROM HON. T. G. ALVORD. 

Assembly Chamber, Albany. 
EoBEKT S. Williams, Esq., Chairman: 

Dear Sir — Permit me to acknowledge your invitation either 
to be present in person or by letter, on the occasion of the com- 
memoration of the " Semi- Centennial Anniversary" of the 
" Charter of the CitA" of Utica,'' bv appropriate exercises, on 
Wednesday, March l', 1882. 

I desire in this connection to say, that my residence in Utica 
commenced fifty years ago, but was a brief one of little over 
six months. While there it numbered among its inhabitants, 
my esteemed uncles. Rev. Dr. Lansing and the honest and up- 
right Alexander Seymour, merchant, and it would be impos- 
sible for me not to recollect my esteemed tutors in the law, 
Charles P. Kirkland and William J. Bacon, whom I have 
always respected and who I am happ)- to sa}', I love, and have 
reason to believe that they have never lost interest in my life 
or career. Your distinguished fellow citizen, Hon. Horatio 
Seymour, has been for a life time intimately connected with me 
in public duties, and our friendship, although we have diverged 
politically, still remains intact. 

It would take too much space and occup}^ too much of your 
time, in relation of incidents or in reference to persons, the 
recollection of whom have always bound me with cords of af- 
fection to the people, and have always made me anxious for 
the prosperity, of ihe city of Utica. 

I hope that you will receive this letter in lieu of a personal 
appearance, inasmuch as my attendance on my legislative 
duties has never yet been broken save by illness. 

Yours with respect, Thomas G. Alvord. 

FROM DR. J. B. ANDREWS. 

Buffalo. N. Y., Feb. 28, 1882. 
Robert S. Williams: 

Thanks for the invitation to attend the Semi-Centennial 
Anniversary. I recall with pleasure my long residence in 
Utica, and retain a warm interest in all that relates to the 
welfare of the city and its citizens. I regret my inability to be 
present. J. B. Andrews. 



^8 Scmi-Ceiitcnnial of 

FROM REV. EDWARD BRIGHT. D. D. 

New York, Feb. 23, 1882. 
^. S. Williams, Esq., Chairman, etc. 

My Dear Sir — I have your invitation to be present at the 
Semi-Centennial Anniversary of the charter of the city ofUtica, 
and it woukl give me great pleasure on many accounts to be 
with you on that intei'esting occasion. Bat the nature of my 
engagements is such for the next two weeks that it will be im- 
possible for me to clo so. 

Many of the pleasantest recollections of my life are con- 
nected with Utica. It was my home from early boyhood to 
early manhood, and it was the place of the beginnings of all 
that made my subsequent life. To be with you at the coming 
anniversary would be both pleasant and sad — pleasant to see 
again how your goodly city has advanced in population, wealth 
and intelligence, and sad to see how few are left of those whom 
1 knew as boys and as men. The only familiar name on your 
committee, of whom my personal recollections go back through 
all the period of my Utica life, is that of the genial and gen- 
tlemanly William J. Bacon, one of the best models I have 
ever known of a truly Christian gentleman. Other names are 
familiar, but the men who now have them are of another gen- 
eration than those with whom my earliest recollections are as- 
sociated. Such are the names of Williams, Seward, Bagg, 
McQuade and Sayre. 

But I have some most interesting Utica ties in this great 
city. Here are my Sunday school teacher, Fredericks. Wins- 
ton, Esq., my fellow Sunday school scholar, Mr. Henry Ivison, 
and Hon. T. L. James, a boy in the hrst Sunday school of 
which I was superintendent, all of whom maintain, without a 
jot of abatement, the noble characters that had their earliest de- 
velopments in Utica. 

Hoping that you will have such an anniversar}^ as will meet 
all your wishes, and be worthy of the city whose fiftieth year 
it is to commemorate, I remain. 

Very truly yours, Edward Bright. 

FROM STEPHEN O. BARNUM. 

Buffalo, Feb. 22, 18S2. 
Egbert S. Williams, Esq., Chairman, etc., Utica: 

Dear Sir — Business engagements render it impossible for 
me to accept your invitation to be present at your meeting. I 
will, however, give you a few of my recollections of the old 
business houses, which may recall pleasant memories of the 



The City of Utica. 59 

past to a few of your society who were boys with me tifty years 
ago. 

EARLY RECOLLECTIONS OF THE BUSINESS SIGNS AND MER- 
CHANTS ON GENESEE STREET FIFTY YEARS OR MORE AGO. 

While on a visit to iny native city a few years back, stand- 
ing in the door of our old friend Davies, the jeweler, and while 
they were repaving Genesee street, we recalled the site of the 
old town pump that stood at the junction of Whitesboro and 
Genesee street, which led us to think of how few of the old 
business signs and men remained now, that we could recall to 
memory, of those days. We began with the old sign on the 
red covered bridge over the Mohawk, " One dollar line for 
crossing this bridge faster than on a walk." Then Pocock, the 
tinner, later Evans ; Edward Baldwin, flour and saw filer ; 
Hinman, dry goods ; Samuel Lightbody, leather ; J. E. Warner, 
now Ray's, drug store ; Oren Clark, "variety store ;'' M. Hitch- 
cock, drugs and post office ; Dr. Marchisi, drugs ; Hoyt, the 
tanner ; Joseph Ingals, the hair dresser ; J. S. Porter, the 
jeweler; Barn urn's, afterwards Vedder & Oley, shoes; Thomas 
Davies. jeweler ; Samuel Stocking, hatter; Williams, Seward 
& Tracy, books ; Merrill, bookbinder ; Thomas Walker, printer ; 
Tom T]-acy, di-y goods ; T. S. Gold & Samuel Thompson, dry- 
goods and carpets : A. B. Williams, tailor; the Ontario Bank 
and residence of Thos. Rockwell, cashier ; Wells, dry goods ; 
John & William Williams, drugs and groceries, checquered 
store; Elisha B. Wells, shoes ; Swartwout, dry goods ; James 
Dana, hardware ; Parker, fancy groceries ; Robert Disney, 
afterward O'Neil & Martin, tin and coppersmiths ; William 
Stacy, succeeded by Golden & Walker, dry goods ; Otis Man- 
chester, afterward Manchester & Penny ; John & Harry Camp, 
dry goods ; Spencer Kellogg, Dry goods ; Bristol, drugs ; John 
& Charles Doolittle, dry goods ; Hinman, confectioner ; Cross, 
marble cutter ; John Baxter, groceries. On the opposite side, 
and below the bridge, we had James Say re, and later Sayre 
& Townsend. hardware ; National Hotel, kept by Welles, later 
by Chatfield & Hardaway ; Gaylord's, looking glasses ; Thomas 
Field, crockery ; Williams & Kent, Tailors ; McDonough's 
grocery; Alfred Hitchcock, drugs; Murdock & Andrews, 
jewelers; Isaiah Tiffany, books; Newell & Macomber, now N. 
C, Newell, paints; Barnum's bazar, later S. V. Oley, shoes; 
Everson & Bryant, later Barnum & Jones, and Robert Jones 
& Sons ; Anson Thomas, later Dutton ; George Dutton, music 
and millinery; Bidwell, dry goods; Harvey Barnard, paper 
hangings ; Stalham Williams, millinery ; Woodruff, dry goods; 
Boughton, furs ; Captain William Clark, exchange and lottery 
office ; the Temperance House ; Sibley, tin and coppersmith : 



6o Scmi-Ccntcnnial of 

Alverson, grocer, later Livingston & Butler, dry goods ; Barnurn 
& Son, bazar ; Comfort Butler, succeeded by Walton & Harda- 
wa}'', saddler}^ and harness ; Re^^iolds, museum ; J. R Warner, 
Hatter ; E. B. Shearman, drugs and groceries ; Hurlburt, cotton 
goods : Hubbell & Curran, hides ; Joab Stafford, hardware, later 
Roberts : John Adams, grocer. 

Respectfully, Stephex O. Baknum. 



FROM JAMES P. BRADISH. 

Whitestown, N. Y., Feb. 28, 1882. 

Gentlemen — As reminiscences of the early da^-s of the 

cit}^ are now called for, please accei^t the enclosed patriotic 

effusion of Utica's sable bard, Joseph Pancko, a lament for the 

loss of several of our brave generals at the battle of Chapultepec. 

Very respectfully, James P. Bradish. 

COMPOSED BY JOSEPH C. PANCKO, OF UTICA, 

ikt to the Air of " Bomqxirte crossing the Bhine.''' 

My once dear Master, they do say 
His soul to Heaven has made its way : 
But if it is not so, we regret. 
For while on earth his name was great. 

Brave General Worth, it has been said 
Was numbered with the unlucky dead ; 
It is but a rumor, yet we fear 
It may to us in truth appear. 

Brave Brigadier General Persifor Smith, 
Whose service we shall never forget. 
Has shared the same in this affray, 
We hope its but an idle phrase. 

Brave General Pillow, hear again, 
It states was one among the slain : 
But yet we hope its not the case, 
But if it is, its no disgrace. 

Those Generals which I did relate, 
Has striven for the United States, 
And gem embellishments have proved. 
Which caused the union them to love. 

Brave General Worth we once did have 
To shield Columbians from the grave; 
His name in history ere must stand, 
And honored through the Christian land. 



The City of Utica. 6i 

FROM HON. LEVI BLAKESLEE. 

New York, Feb. 28, 1882. 
Hon. Robert S. Williams, Chairman^ and others : 

Gentlemen — I am in receipt of your kind invitation to be 
present and participate in the Semi-Centennial Anniversary of 
the charter of the city of Utica, and I greatly regret 
that I am unable to do so, for wherever ray lot may be 
cast, my heart will always turn with fond remembrance, to the 
many kind friends of my earlier years, in Utica and vicinity. 
Very few cities can show such a long and honored list of 
names of men, now or formerly citizens, eminent in public 
station, or able and successful in the management of large bus- 
iness enterprises, and I have felt it a sufficient honor, to war- 
rant a journey of two hundred and fifty miles and return, each 
year for the last eight years, to cast my vote with my old 
neighbors, and thus retain an unquestioned right to subscribe 
myself "A citizen of Utica." 

Very truly yours, Levi Blakeslee. 

FROM B. B. BURT, ESQ. 

Oswego, Feb. 24, 18S2. 
My Friend, Mr. Williams: 

I have received the invitatiun to be present at the exercises 
to commemorate the Semi-Centennial Anniversary of the charter 
of the city of Utica on Wednesday, March 1, 1882. I hope to 
be present on the occasion. 

Cordially yours, B. B. Burt. 

Robert S. AVilliams, Chairman. 

FROM JAMES H. BUTLER. 

New York, Feb. 25, 1882. 
Robert S. Williams, Chairman : 

Gentlemen — Your kind invitation requesting me to be 
present at the Semi-Centennial Anniversary of the charter of the 
city of Utica, March 1, 18S2, is duly received, with many 
thanks. I sincerely regret my inability to be present on that 
most interesting occasion, but I assure you I will be with you 
in spirit if I cannot be in person. I have always felt proud to 
say that Utica was my native place ; I was born on Cenesee 
street two years before it became a city. It would give me 
great pleasure to accept the invitation, but my business engage- 
ments will make it impossible for me to be absent at the time 
of your meeting. Hoping you will have a cheei'ful and happy 
time. I am very respectfull}', yours truly, 

James H. Butler. 



62 Scuii-Ccnte^mial of 

FROM MR. BUTLER'S AGED MOTHER. 

Brooklyn, April 24th, 1S82. 
E. S. Williams, Esq., Chairman : 

Mj Dear Sir — Being an old resident of Utica, I think that 
perhaps I can add a little to the reminiscences of former times, 
of which I suppose you have many contributions. I settled in 
your city with my husband. Colonel Comfort Butler, in 1815, 
at which time there were very few inhabitants. 

Mr. Butler was, I think, the first one who commanded the 
militia in Utica, and on the occasion of the reception of General 
LaFayette he took an active part. One of my sons has now in 
his possession two commissions sio;ned by Governor Clinton, 
which were issued to Mr. Butler. He was one of the original 
projectors of the old Mechanics' Library Association, and while 
reading the second book, which he had drawn, he lost the sight 
of one eve, and in less than two years after, he became totally 
blind, from which he never recovered during the remainder of 
his life, a period of about thirty seven years. 

After a residence of thirt3-seven years in Utica we removed 
to Brooklyn, whei-e, twelve years later, Mr. Butler passed 
away. 

I am now eighty-five years of age and still have vivid recol- 
lections of Utica, and my thoughts often wander into the past, 
recalling many happy daj^s spent there. 

With ni}^ best wishes for the success of your association, I 
am, ^^cry respectfull}', 

Martha Butler. 



FROxM HON. JOHN D. CATON. 

Chicago, March 7, 1882. 
Robert S. Williams, Esq., Chairman^ &c.: 

Dear Sir — Your circular mvitation b}" the Oneida Historical 
Societv to attend the Semi-Centeunial Anniversary of the charter 
of the City of Utica, on the 1st inst., was not received in time 
to enable me to reply before that date. 

This reference to the event which you have just celebrated 
revives meinories of fifty years ago, when I was working hard 
there, ti-ying to understand what Blackstone, Chitty and Kent 
said about the law. There I learned the rudiments of my pro- 
fession so as to barely pass an examination by an Illinois judge, 
across an oak stump on the banks of the Hlinois river by 
moonlight. There I listened to the law lectures of Beardsley, 
Spencer, Denio, Maynard and others, not in a law school, but 
in the court, and the principles thus learned have, T think, been 
the most staving of any. 



The City of Utica. 6j 

Utica was the first considerable town I ever saw, and when 
at ten years of age I first passed down Genesee street, I thought 
it the most gorgeous place existing in the whole world, and its 
glittering signs and sights were fairl}^ photographed on my 
memory. It seemed to me that 1 had suddenly dropped into 
Elysium. Those joyous sensations are still as vivid in memory 
as they were but a day later. It w^as love at first sight and I 
have always loved her since with unabated affection, and so 
shall I always love dear old CJtica. Hence I suppose it is that 
Uticans have always seemed nearer to me and better, too, than 
other people. Long may they live ! Long may they prosper ! 

The event which I most vividly recollect was the preaching 
of a sermon, the Sunday after the city was incorporated, in the 
old Reformed Dutch Church by the Rev. Mr. Doremus, or 
Doame, or some such name (all preachers were not doctors 
then), on the great event in the histor}^ of the city. He was an 
able preacher, and the discourse was interesting. I wonder if 
there is another person living who heard that discourse and re- 
members it. 

A new generation has grown up and taken the places of 
those who were then just assuming the cares and the respon- 
sibilities of life. And another generation shall grow up and 
grow old wdien another fifty j^ears shall have passed. May 
they be as worthy of those whom they shall succeed as these 
are of those whose places they have taken. 

Most truly yours, J. D. Caton. 

FROM HOVEY K. CLARKE. 

Detroit, Feb. 25, 1882. 
Robert S. Williams, Esq., Utica, N. Y. : 

My Dear Sir — I am much obliged to you for the invitation 
which came to me a few days ago to attend the exercises by wdiich 
the Oneida Historical Society proposes, on the 1st of March, to 
commemorate the Semi-Centennial Anniversary of the charter of 
the city of Utica. I am glad to be recognized as one who 
would be interested in such an event ; but the hindrances to 
my acceptance of your invitation are so many, that I need not 
even try to overcome them all. 

And, as to '" reminiscences,'' I doubt whether I have any 
that are quite suitable to the event you are to commemorate. 
M}' life in Utica began in December 1816, and ended in July 
1831, just after I had completed my 19tli year, which w\as 
before the commencement of the half century of Utica as a city. 
What I could say would interest only the boj's ! I could tell 
about our schoolmasters — at least, of those who held that rela- 
tion to me, after I was too big a boy for my mothers school — 
■of McCloskey, who kept a school on the north side of Broad 



64 Semi-Ceiiteiinial of 

street, between Genesee and John. He was an Irishman, whose 
badge of authority and instrument of discipline was the " taws." 
He was a cripple, who could move about from place to place 
only by the aid of two crutches. Nevertheless, it was not easy 
to defy him. Dick somebody did it one day — I have forgotten 
his other name, but "Dick" describes him well enough — he 
w^as an uncommonly exasperating boy, and one day when Mr. 
McCloskey started for him he ran behind a long desk turned to 
the wall ; the only way to get at him was by the hole he went 
in at. But the retreat was too deep for McCloskey 's crutch, 
thrust in after him as though he were a woodchuck in his hole. 
Dick trium.phed ! Was there ever a school that would not 
sympathize with such a hunted outlaw ? I think we did, and 
that is why I remember it so long. Your brother Wells and I 
formed a reading-class of two, at this school, in the Autobi- 
ography of Dr. Franklin. Another of my schoolmasters was 
Bartlett (Montgomery E.) whose school w^as on the east side of 
Hotel street. He is memorable chiefly for his skill in teaching- 
arithmetic, and the severity, or rather the violence of what he 
probably intended as acts of discipline. Another of my 
teachers was Winston — afterwards Rev. D. M. Winston — a 
brother of the present President of the New York Mutual Life 
Insurance Company. His school was in Minerva Hall, in the 
third story of a building on the east side of Genesee street, just 
below Broad. Here occurred an event, like which I remember 
none other in my school experience. I was feruled with two 
other boys — George Burchard and John Edmonds — for decorat- 
ing the walls of the schoolroom with charcoal sketches, during a 
noon recess. John " cut up " during his punishment in a way 
that made the whole scene rather entertaining even to me, though 
mine was yet to come. Doubtless we should have all fared 
better in these days of decorative art In the Academy we 
had Hervey, D wight — Harrison Gray Otis D wight, — Stuart — 
Rev. Captain Charles Stuart — who, of all teachers that I ever 
knew, was peerless in the play-ground, and in the manifesta- 
tion of a real affection for his scholars. He would tolerate no 
disorder in the schoolroom. Even in the prayer with which he 
opened the morning session, no prank was permitted to escape 
his notice. He astonished one with, right in among his usual 
petitions — "■ James Dana, sit down." "Jim" sat down with- 
out a moment's hesitation. 

We boys had politics in those days. During a noon recess 
at Mr. Winston's school we were gathered in front of Pax. 
Gould's law book store, which was just across the street, in the 
window of which were displayed the portraits of the various 
candidates for President at the election then pending — Adams, 
Jackson, Crawford, Calhoun and Clay. We had our reasons 
for our preferences, and our declaration of them almost made a 



The City of Utica. 6^ 

riot in the street. Bat that was no more peculiar then than 
it is now. 

Those were the days when the Erie canal was a novelty. 
But one of the uses to which it was put was appreciated by 
the boys more than it was by the public. The most superior 
skating was always at the Starch Factory pond ; and the canal 
made a very acceptable way on our skates to the splendid 
skating on the pond. 

And the Mohawk as a place for swimming does not now 
seem very attractive ! Yet, it was the only place we had — and 
the location, right opposite the east end of the station build- 
ings of the Central railroad. I always, when passing through 
Utica by daylight, spend a few moments in meditating from 
the car windows upon the good times we had, long ago, in 
" going in" — for these were all the words ever thought neces- 
sary to express our purpose. 

Of all the industries carried on in those days whatever may 
have been the opinion of our seniors, we did not underrate 
that conducted on the present site of the Oneida Bank, by Mr. 
Kingsbury. 

As to our holidays and entertainments — Pans in the spring 
had not entirely lost the favor with wdiich the first settlers in 
the valley regarded it. But the tricks of the Dutch boys, in 
emptying their egg shells and filling them with plaster — or sub- 
stituting for them chalk eggs half concealed, gave the sport of 
" butting eggs" a hazardous character, which I dare say, by 
this time, has banished its use. The "general training" and 
the Fourth of July were the only regularly observed annual 
holidays. " Thanksgiving" came every year, of course. Bat 
that was more of a holy than a holiday, to many of us. But 
there was nothing in any of these which afforded anything like 
the satisfaction which was to be obtained from a fire ! I sup- 
pose, because it gave unlimited license to noise, and gave the 
boys an apparently equal place with the men in a great public 
endeavor. To " holler fire" all the way from Genesee street to 
Harden's brewery, on a Sunday too, if, as I think it happened 
on a Sunday, and then to join the lines of the fire-fighters — on 
the empty bucket side of course — made a day long to be re- 
membered — and you see I have not forgotten notwithstanding 
the lapse of more than half a century. (Was not Harden's 
brewery burnt twice ?) 

The boys were not unobservant of the march of social 
usages. Fitch Porter told us one day that his father was hav- 
ing made in his shop some silver forks for Mr. Seymour. A 
great dinner party was impending, very likely a semi-state af- 
fair, and this was one of the extra preparations for the event. 
It would be interesting; to know whether this was not the first 



66 Semi-Centen^iial of 

breacli into the steel fork usage, which Dr. Bagg mentions in 
his '' Pioneers" as prevailing at that time? 

We were occasionally favored with the sight of historical 
celebrities, La Fayette, Aaron Burr, Red Jacket, Martha Brad- 
street ! The day given to La Fayette, as he passed thi'ough 
Utica on his grand tour of the United States, was a very mem- 
orable one. Aaron Burr occasionally attended the sessions of 
the supreme court at L^tica. He was a great lawyer : he had 
been very conspicuous in the political history of the country ; 
but the estimation in which he was then held will appear from 
what one boy said to me as he was passing along before us — 
'* There goes the man that killed General Hamilton. " Red Jacket 
I saw at the stage office adjoining the Canal Coflfee House, where 
lie was waiting for the stage, by which he was to pursue his 
journey west. A large framed stalwart Lidian, bearing on his 
breast, the medal, then somewhat dingy in appearance, said to 
have been given to him by Washington. He was a stupid 
looking man — but this may have been owing to the '' fire- 
water,'' to wdiich it was said he was somewhat addicted. And, 
Martha Bradstreet -a stout, imperious, or rather a dogmatic- 
looking w^oman, wnth an ap})earance of smartness and sauciness 
which may possibly have been owing to the consciousness, that 
when she w'as in Utica she was among a people by whom she 
was not specially admired ! 

But, speaking of celebrities, we did not know then that two 
of our boys, then not very much unlike other boj-s, would 
within the coming half century achieve for themselves a world- 
wide reputation for character and learning, which would make 
their birthplace alw^ays proud of them— w^hose names will 
never lack honored remembrance in any history of the city of 
L^tica — the names of Samuel Wells Williams and James 
D WIGHT Dana. 

I wish I could believe that you can be as much interested in 
wdiat I have w^ritten as I have been in recalling the scenes of 
my boyhood. I wonder if it is not the reason why old or 
elderly people are called childish, that they are apt to give such 
exaggerated importance to the scenes of their j'outh ! Never- 
theless. I have enjoyed the wn-iting of it, and if, I, by the 
means of it, have emphasized my appreciation of your invi- 
tation, I shall be satisfied. 

Very truly yours, HovEY K. Clarke. 

FROM THOS. ALLEN CLARKE, ESQ. 

YoNKERS-oN- Hudson, Feb. 21, 1S82. 
My Dear Mr Williams — I thank you for your invitation 
to be present at the proposed Semi-Centennial Anniversary of 
the charter of the city of LTtica. I accept the invitation with 



The City of Utica. dy 

pleasure. Nothing now foreseen will prevent my being with 
jou on an occasion so full of interest. The names attached to 
your circular recall a crowd of memories of the families they 
represent. Most of their fathers were of my friends. 

Faithfully yours, Thos. Allen Clarke. 

KoBT. S. Willla.ms, Esq., Chairman. 

FROM HON. ROSCOE CONKLING. 

29 Nassau St., New York, Feb. 21, 1882. 
Robert S. Williams, Esq., Utica : 

My Dear Sir — Many thanks for j^our invitation to attend 
the Semi-Centennial Anniversarj^ of the charter of Utica, on 
the 1st of March. 

Whether it will be my privilege to meet the cherished 
neighbors and friends who then assemble can not now be fore- 
seen. If I can arrange it, I will do so; if not, the loss will 
be mine. 

Under all circumstances, my heart and thoughts will be with 
3'ou. 

Cordially yours, lioscoE Conkling. 

FROM REV. S. HANSON COXE, S. T. D. 

KiNDERHOOK, Feb. 23, 1882. 
To Robert S. Williams, Chairman, and Gentlemen of the 
Serai- Centennial Coininittee : 

Gentlemen — I have had the honor to receive an invitation 
to attend the Semi Centennial commemoration of the charter 
of the city of Utica, on Wednesday, March 1, 1882. It would 
give me pleasure to do so, but engagements for the very day 
you name will prevent. Having passed twenty of the best 
years of my life in 3^our beautiful city, and observed its 
progress during all that time in every department of improve- 
ment, I should be pleased to review with you its history. 

I congratulate you on the great names which have been 
identified with your city in the past, especially in the depart- 
ment of law ; for where in anyplace of its size have there been 
resident so many distinguished judges, of high character and 
celebrit}^ : on the benevolent institutions which have there 
been multiplied; on the annual courses of lectures by the 
most talented lecturers which have so long been sustained ; on 
your annual art gallery, so refining, elevating, and improving 
in its influences ; on the number and strength of your public 
buildings, all so creditable and adorning. If the next half 
century shall do as much for the city as has been done in the 
past, it will continue to be unrivalled by any, of its own ])ro- 
portions. 



68 Sc))i /- Ccn ten n ial of 

Not long after LJtica, by charter, became a city, I visited it 
as a school-boy, having ascended the Hudson river to Albany 
by steam-boat ; thence traveling to Schenectady by horse rail- 
road, and thence by canal packet drawn by three horses so as 
to move rapidly. I remember the high white steeple of the 
Presbyterian Church, the Trinity of those days, which I 
entered and strolled through, and its neighbor, the old Reformed 
Church on Broad street, where I heard Dr. Bethune's farewell 
sermon (June 29, 1834,) from the appropriate and tenderly 
affectionate text, Philip iv : 1. 

Gentlemen, you have my best wishes for your prosperity, and 
a successful commemoration, and I remain 

Very respectfully yours, S. Hanson Coxe. 

FROM PROFESSOR JAMES D. DANA. 

New Haven, Feb. 23, 1882. 
Mr. Robert S. Williams, Chairman of the Committee of tiie 

Oneida Historical Society : 

My Dear Mr. Williams — I have received your letter of the 
17th, and wonld ask you to thank the committee for their in- 
vitation to the Utica Semi-Centennial. The occasion will be 
one I should greatly enjoy ; for I have not lost my affection 
for the city of my old home and my schoolboy life. But col- 
lege duties now in progress confine me here, so that I shall 
have to forego the pleasure. 

Very truly yours, James D. Dana. 

FROM DR. THEO. DIMON. 

Auburn, N. Y., Feb. 20, 1882. 
Robert S. Williams, Esq , Chairman: 

Dear Sir — Your letter inviting me, as a former resident, to 
be present on the first of March, at the commemoration by 
the Oneida Historical Society of the Semi-Centennial Anniver- 
sary of the charter of the city of Utica, is received with pecu- 
liar pleasure. For the only house I ever owned stood in 
Utica ; in Utica my wife and two of our children were born ; 
in Utica are now the only descendants of my father's five sons 
who bear the family name, and the memory of the years Hived 
in Utica is bright with the dearest friendships and happiest as- 
sociations of my life. 

"Oh, those were pleasant days, 

I ne'er shall see the like ! 
I had not buried then so many hopes ! 
I had not buried then so many friends I"' 

Those days when Barnum was mayor, "Bill Dick"' was a man 

of letters known on both sides of the great canal, and we were 



The City of Utica. 6g 

young. William J. Bacon and James Watson Williams were 
then just old enough to be always put in quotation .marks for 
the younger set of us; they being the good young men of our 
day. 

My classmates at Yale, Alick Johnson, even then of presence 
fit to be a judge, and John Seymour, then, as ever since, doing 
good to others ; Frank Kernan, digesting law enough at Joshua 
ISpencer's office to grow into a senator ; J. K. Hackett, since the 
fierce recorder, then occasionally serenading a Broad street 
young lady under an umbrella : Ned Braj'ton, always singing 
"Sparkling and Bright," and "hardly ever" "Tippecanoe and 
Tyler too ;" Alick Seward, sitting on a camp stool smoking 
segars (not fiddling) while sedately contemplating the burning 
up of all the law in Kirkland & Bacon's office, where he was a 
student; Jack Edmonds serenely sleeping behind his great spec- 
tacles in attentive attitude (like Huntington's dreaming Mercy) 
through the sermons at the First Presbyterian Church, are 
among the many of ray remembrances of those days. And the 
young ladies of those days ! There never were anywhere else, 
and there never will be, such refined, beautiful and lovely girls 
as the girls of Utica forty years ago. Whitesboro street. Broad 
street. Chancellor square, Rutger street, Fayette street, and 
the hill are all classic ground to me. 

With such recollections to call me to your meeting, I need 
not assure you how greatly I regret that I cannot be present to 
compare wrinkles with those by whom I was received with 
hearty welcome and friendship when I first came to Utica, 
forty two years ago. 

Very resi)ectfully yours, Theo. Dimon. 



FROM WILLIAM Pi. BUTTON. 

Philadelphia, Feb. 24, 18S2. 
BoBERT S. Williams, Esq., Utica, N. Y. : 

Dear Sir — I have received yours of the 17th, inviting me to 
the commemoration of the Semi- Centennial Anniyersary of the 
charter of the city of Utica, on March 1, 1882, and deepl}' re- 
gret that pressure of business will prevent my attendance. 
Meanwhile I cannot express to you the pleasure it would give 
me to revisit dear old Utica, and with heartfelt greeting meet 
the man}^ companions of my early days, which this occasion 
will call together. Every name in the list which you have 
sent me suggests bright and affectionate memories in my mind, 
of boyhoods playmates, kind neighbors, good friends, none of 
whom can I ever forget. From 1821 until 1865, I lived in 
beautiful Utica, and you can easily understand that after no 
other home could claim me this side of the infinite, and that 



yo Se^ni-Ccntcnnial of 

like myself, all wanderers from the '' lovely inland city," 
wherever they roam, always must remember with pride and 
pleasure, as the years increase, the early sunny, golden days of 
youth in the ever charming Mohawk valley. 

With kindest remembrances to each member of the commit- 
tee, and regards to all of my old friends in the society, 

I am truly yours, W. H. Dutton. 

1,115 Chestnut St., Philadelphia. Pa. 



FROM REV. B. W. DWIGHT. 

Clixton, N. Y., Feb. 21, 1882. 
Dr. M. M. Ba(IG : 

My Dear Sir — The circular of your Semi-Centennial Anni- 
versary of the Oneida Historical Society, on March 1st next, 
came to hand yesterday. It is not stated in it at wliat place or 
at what hour it is to be held (whether by day or by night). 
Whether I can be present I do not yet know. Probabilities 
look strongly the other way. 

I believe heartily in such organizations in all the counties of 
the state and in all parts of our land. We have had, and are 
progressively having such a history as no part of the world 
ever had before ; and the time to gather for sure preservation 
the records of the early beginnings of the history of Central 
New York is now, when we are so near to them as to be 
thoroughly accurate, if we will, in our work. The past, so far 
as it has been right and true in aim and achievement, keeps 
ever growing more and more precious, as we are continually 
receding from it. Oneida county has been from the first be- 
hind no county in the state for size, in sending forth men of 
talent and nobleness of chai'acter to do the very best work of 
the times in the affairs alike of the State and of the Church. 
Whether I ever meet with you or not, you will always have my 
spontaneous appreciation and warm sympathy with you in 
your honorable and useful work. 

I am yours truly, Ben.iamin W. Dwight. 

FROM HON. S. EARL. 

Herkimer, Feb. 27, 1882. 
Gentlemen — Your letter of the 17th inst., inviting me to be 
present at the Semi-Centennial Anniversary of the charter of 
the city of Utica, to be commemorated on the 1st proximo, 
was received in due time. I have held back my response to 
your kind invitation until this moment, hoping I might be 
able to so arrange some appointments set down for that day, as 
to enable me to be present. But I regret to be obliged to say 



The City of Utica. 7/ 

that I cannot, and must therefore forep;o the pleasure of meet- 
ing with you and other citizens of tJtica on the occasion of 
so much local interest. I regret this the more, because as a 
native of Herkimer, I feel a just pride in the growth and prosper- 
ity of Utica, which Herkimer looks upon, as indeed she is, her 
younger sister on the banks of the Mohawk. Herkimer gave 
to Utica some of her earliest inhabitants, among whom were 
John Bellinger and the late Col. Nicholas Smith : and her first 
merchant, John Post, was a resident of Herkimer before he be- 
came a citizen of Utica. 

In a matter of so much interest in a family as a semi centennial 
celebration of a birth, it seems especially fitting, that every 
branch of the family should be represented at the banquet ; and 
I hope some other representative, from Herkimer, will appear 
and join in the festivities of the occasion ! Between the 
two places, linked together, as they are by the beauti- 
ful Mohawk, there has always been, and I trust there al- 
ways will be, intimate social and business relations — and 
why should there not be? Herkimer is not envious of 
the larger growth of her younger sister, but on the con- 
trary rejoices in her career of prosperity, and in her proud po- 
sition as the Queen city of the valley of the Mohawk. It is 
not many years since, and it may be within the memory of 
persons still living, when all the present site of Utica was em- 
braced within the county of Herkimer : and at that time Her- 
kimer was the larger of the two places. It would make this 
letter too long to enumerate, even, the causes which have made 
the more rapid growth of Utica, as com])ared with the slow 
progress Herkimer has made in that direction. It is suihcient 
to say, and Herkimer fully acknowledges, that the growth of 
Utica in all the elements which make up a city is a fact, and 
that its position as the leading city in the valley of the Mo- 
hawk is established. The only thing I claim for Herkimer, as 
against Utica is on account of her age. 

That she is small for her age is not the fault of Utica. Here a 
village stood for more than fifty years before there was a civil- 
ized habitation where Utica now stands ; and here there was a 
village sacked and a Christian church burned, by an invading 
army, more than a quarter of a century before Utica was 
known even as a stopping place for the weary white traveler on 
the *' mighty Mohawk." And here, too, there was a Priest's 
house, a rendezvous for Christian missionaries, a half century 
at least before a house for a Christian minister was built in 
Utica. It will be seen from this that there' are some things 
which age can claim. Herkimer was settled as early as 1723 — 
Utica nearly two thirds of a century later. Herkimer, though 
small for her age. and of but little reputation as compared with 
Utica, is thoroughly loyal in her affection and admiration for 



J 2 Son i- Ccn ten n ia I of 

her, and is proud of her present greatness as a city of a half 
century's growth.. Time was when Herkimer was larger and 
better known than Utica. Often the anxious and weary 
traveler up the valley of the Mohawk who was destined for 
Utica, but not knowing where it was, whether on the north or 
south side of the river, would stop at Herkimer to inquire his 
way. But from the following extracts, taken from the journal 
of an intelligent and somewhat distinguished traveler during 
the latter part of the last century, I should say it was at that 
time rather hard on a hungry traveler to stop where Utica now 
is. The extract is as follows : 

'■'■September, 17ScS. From Colonel Sterling's Schuyler, Her- 
kimer county : I began to travel the wilderness bordering 
upon the Indian Territory. The road is almost impassable; I 
was upwards of three hours in reaching the Mohawk opposite 
old Fort Schuyler, a distance of only six miles : here I re- 
luctantly forded the river, being alone and without a guide and 
both shores being alive with savages. Having fasted twenty- 
four hours in consequence of a severe headache the day 
previous, I was by this time excessively hungry and fatigued ; 
as there was no tavern, and there were only a few scattered 
houses, I proceeded to an old German log house on the margin 
of the river and implored for something to eat. At length, 
after much difficulty, I prevailed on an ill natured German 
woman to spare rne two ears of green corn and some salt." 

The same intelligent traveler, in speaking of his experience, 
in 1821, says: '"I never suffered more from hunger in all my 
w^anderings than I did in 1788, on the s))ot now occupied by 
the large and flourishing village of Utica.'" 

At that time, I think it safe to say, the same traveler would 
have most likely been treated to spring lamb and chicken had 
he arrived in Herkimer in the same starved condition as he did 
at old Fort Schuyler. Taverns, so necessary for the comfort 
of the weary and hungry travelei', then abounded in Herkimer; 
so much again in favor of Herkimer on account of age. But 
as the age of towns and cities in this country has but little 
significance as bearing on the question of their size, it is not 
either strange or surprising that though Utica is now but little 
more than half as old as Herkimer, it should be more than 
twelve times its size. Such apparently anomalous things do 
ha])pen in this countiy. 

I know of no better time than the present to tender to the 
Oneida Historical Society, for preservation, an old map show- 
ing the location of the Palatines' village here as it was in 
November, 1757, when it was sacked by the French and In- 
dians and many of its inhabitants taken prisoners and carried 
captive to Canada ; among whom was the Mayor of the village. 
The map purports to show the location and sha})eof the houses 



The City of Utica. 7? 

which constituted the village, including the church, the priest's 
house, and the house also of the ma3^or. It must have been 
made from memory by a person previously acquainted with the 
locality, and considering that it was made without an actual 
survey, it is quite accurate. The village, as shown by the 
map, is where Herkimer now is — and it had a Mayor — and 
this, too, seventy-five 3^ears before such an officer was known 
to exist in Utica. Here again Herkimer shows age, but age 
alone, as all here well know, does not make a cit3^ Herkimer, 
too, has a proud and honored name, and that, too, we find does 
not make a city. The classic name of Utica which was given 
to a small settlement on the lovely banks of the Mohawk, 
where old Fort Schuyler stood, has now been the name of a 
city for a full semi-centennial period, but the name did not 
make a city ; that w^as made by forces which are still at work 
and are likely to continue and 3^early add to the growth of 
Utica as time rolls on. 

Hoping that the Semi-Centeiinial Anniversay of the birth of 
the city of Utica, under a legislative charter, will be fitly com- 
memorated, and that its growth and prosperity in the future 
will justly entitle it to be called the Queen city of the Empire 
State, I am, with great respect, yours, etc., 

S Eakl. 
To Robert S. Williams, Chairman and others, Committee. 

FROM DR. THOS. M. FLANDRAU. 

Rome, Feb. 24, 1882. 
Mr. Robert S. Williams, Chairmati, d^c: 

Dear Sir — I shall be much pleased to attend the symposium 
in which the Oneida Historical Society proposes to commemo- 
rate the Semi-Centennial Anniversary of the city of Utica. 

Notwithstanding the erasure in your note of invitation, I con- 
sider myself entitled to be classed with the " former residents " 
of your beautiful city. It was my privilege to spend the year 
1832 on Whitesboro street, the year which you now celebrate. 
But aside from this, having passed so many years in Oneida 
county, I shall take great interest in the manificent record of 
growth and prosperity which Utica will be able to present on 
her fiftieth anniversary. 

Very respectfully, Thos. M. Flandrau. 

FROM N I COLL FLOYD, ESQ. 

Moriches, Suffolk Co., N. Y., 
Mr. Robert S. Williams ; March 6, 1882. 

I was not able to accept the invitation to the celebration 
given by the Oneida Historical Society, though I had at one 



7-/ Semi-Centennial of 

time some hopes of doing so ; but I beg to convey through you 
to the committee, my very sincere thanks for their remembrance 
of me as a former citizen and constant friend of Utica. 

It was a great pleasure to find every name on the committee 
that of an old acquaintance and often a personal friend. 

Many years must pass before it will cease to be a matter of 
pride to any one in the legal profession to be able to say that he 
comes from Oneida county. 

In the debt which the state owes to her for the mighty men 
of law she has sent forth, those following their footstep " hand 
itquis passlbus'^ bear a double portion. Her best friends 
must be satisfied if she continues to live up to her record. 
Yours very truly, NicoLL Floyd. 



FROM HORACE W. FOWLER, ESQ. 

257 Broadway, Np:w York, Feb. 27, 1882. 

My Dear Sir — I regret very much that my engagements for 
Wednesday are such that I must give up my intention to at 
tend your exercises on that da}'. 

I am surprised to learn that the city of Utica is only fifty 
years of age. It would appear from that fact that neither the 
city nor I were of age when we first became acquainted ; and 
that we were, therefore, children together. That may account 
in some degree for my love for it. 

If I remember rightly, Utica, before it was a city, was about 
the centre of the strength of the five nations ; and the whole 
Mohawk valley has run red with the blood of conflict, and has 
been the scene of man}^ unheralded sufferings in behalf of 
civilization and national independence. The time may come 
w^hen it shall receive its proper share of credit, and when the 
story Tryon county has to tell can be heard through the din 
and clamor for glory that New England makes. 

But when history at last begins to tell the truth, and narrates 
with proper prominence the battles which have been fought in 
the Mohawk valley, and the sufferings that have there been 
endured, it will probably record more important, but cannot 
possibly record more numerous fights than I have had in the 
streets of Utica. 

I would name the men I have whipped, except for their 
feelings. I would name the men who have whipped me, ex- 
cept for my feelings. I was not quarrelsome, either. But I 
have fought on Whitesboro street, I have fought on Seneca 
street, Liberty street. Hotel street, Grcnesee street, Carnahan 
street, Union street, at the 3d, ith, 5th and 6th locks of the 
Chenango canal, amongst other places. 



The City of Utica. 75 

I don"t think I have ever fought with any gentleman on your 
committee. I think one or two of them may have chased me 
once or twice. 

If you think these few historical facts would be of interest, 
you may use them. 

Yours very truly, Horace W. Fowler. 

Mr. Rorert S. Williams, Chahnnan-: 



FROM DANIEL J. FRANCIS. 

No. 123 South Salina Street, ) 
Syracuse, N. Y., Feb. 24th. 1882. )' 

Robert S. Williams, and others : 

Gentlemen — It is with great pleasure that I acknowledge the 
receipt of your invitation to the Semi-Centennial Anniversay 
on Wednesday next. 

I regret that my business engagements are such as to prevent 
me from being present upon that occasion. As one of the 
many sons of Utica, I take the greatest interest in all that con- 
cerns her, whether of the past, present or future. A cousin, 
Mr. Daniel J-. Morris, long a resident of this city, and a native 
of Utica, has handed me a programme of the exercises of the 
Utica Academy, held forty-two years ago, which I enclose, 
trusting that it may prove interesting to some who may be 
present at the celebration, next week. 

To any student of those days, when M. M. Backus was 
principal, and George R. Peikins professor of mathematics, it 
will revive memories of faces and friendships that the busy 
duties and cares of after life may have rendered dim and 
obscare. It may carry them back to the times when they were 
boys, and remind them of those who entered with them upon 
the duties of life, of ambitions and hopes, that have been realized 
or shattered as Dame Fortune has seen fit to will it. 

The programme contains the names of Professor Anson J. 
Upson, who delivered the valedictory ; of ex-Postmaster 
Thomas L. James, M. L. Langford. Henry M. Peckham, C. K. 
Grannis, H. A. Daniels, and many other well remembered 
names. 

You are welcome to place the programme among the 
archives of the society, if it is thought worthy of a place. 

The thoughts of Utica's absent sons will be with you at the 
celebration, and I congratulate the society upon the success of 
the same, which the names of the committee ensure. 

Yery truly youi's, Daistiel J. Francis. 



"]6 Seuii-Centcnnial of 



FROM N. F. C; RAVES, ESQ. 

Sykacuse, Feb. 27, 1882. 
E. S. Williams, Esq., Chairman: 

Dear Sir — Your favor of the I7tb inst., inviting me to be 
present at the Semi -Centennial Anniversary of the ciharter of 
the city of Utica has been received. Soon after the settlement 
of Utica my father came on horseback from Connecticut, and 
stayed over night at Utica, in a log tavern, on his way to West- 
moreland, where he settled on a farm, now occupied by one of 
my brothers. My father often described the appearance of 
Utica at that time and thought the surroundings did not 
promise well for one who wished to cultivate a farm. The 
landlord advised him to remain there and purchase land close 
to the settlement, predicting that some day there would be a 
city there. The pi'ediction was received with peals of laugh- 
ter. The cedar swamps were dense and formed a jungle nearly 
impassable, and looked then as though it might be a better 
place for bears and wolves than for raising wheat, corn and 
oats, and so he passed on to Westmoreland to procure good 
land, and in that he succeeded. My father lived to see Utica 
a prosperous and beautiful cit}", and to know that a single lot 
of the land that he could at first have ])urchased for a few dol- 
lars an acre was worth more than his whole farm. 

I often went to Utica when a boy with my father and be- 
lieved that Utica was the fairest and most beautiful cit}' in the 
land. I was a boy then, and had not seen other cities, but have 
since seen the principal cities of the world, but after all I must 
sa}^ my first impression remains, and in my eyes Utica is 
"beautiful for situation " and one of the fairest cities of this or 
any other land. I read law in the office of Joshua A. Spencer 
and thei'e formed the acquaintance of many ]irominent men, 
and of many others that have since become distinguished. No 
cit}^ of its size has sent out such an ami}' of men that have 
made their influence felt far and wide, and that have reflected 
such honor upon their native cit}' 

Kespectfully yours, N. F. Graves. 

FROM A. H. GREEN, ESQ. 

Syracuse, Feb. 27, 1882. 
To KoBERT S. Williams, Esq., Chairman^ and oOiers^ Com- 

miltee, etc.: 

Gentlemen — I regret that I cannot accept the esteemed invita- 
tion of the Oneida Historical Society, communicated through 
your committee, to be present at its proposed commemora- 



The City of Utica. 77 

tiou of the Semi-Centennial Anniversary of the charter of 
the city of Utica. 

I hardly need say that the society deservedly celebrates so 
important an event in the history of'a community distinguished 
for the worth and intelligence of its citizens, the successful en- 
terprise and large public spirit of its businessmen, for its social 
refinements, and for the remarkable number of eminent public 
men it has produced, whose names are intimately associated 
with the government of the state of New York and of the 
United States. 

Hoping that Utica may have a future greater and more 
prosperous than even its j)ast, I am, gentlemen, with much 
respect, Very truly yours, 

A. H. Green. 

FROM THOS. D. GREEN. 

Syracuse, Feb. 2S, 1882. 
R. S. Williams, Esg., Chairman, etc. 

Dear Sir — Since giving my acce})tance of jour invitation to 
be with you in your commemoratoiy doings to-morrow, I have 
been a few days from home and have taken a severe influenza, 
which I find will prevent me keeping my engagement, and 
deny me a great pleasure. In ;vour remembrances of me as a 
" former resident " of Utica, I am led to reflect a good deal 
upon the changes, now near the third decade of years, since I 
went from the old home farm on the outskirts of your city, 
having remained under the paternal roof during my minority. 
Looking to the bright side alone, we have seen in the time,, 
your city reaching out on all sides and more than doubling in 
population ; and from its being the home of men eminent as 
statesmen, jurists, evangelists, as well as manufacturers and 
men engaged in trade, giving you a reputation that is world- 
wide. 

A couple of weeks ago I saw, as I passed your city east, 
what thirty years ago was a single track, ironed with the 
old strap rail, with but one short side track, and known as the 
Utica & Schenectady railroad, but which is now a part of the 
great N. Y. C. & H. R. K R., with its four tracks, and the only 
four track road in the world, its side tracks now extending so 
far that they reach quite to the Starch Factory creek, one and 
one half miles. I think I am correct when I say, that a public 
street has been laid out by your city, on what was the east 
line of my father's farm, which we used to call two miles 
from Genesee street. I would have had great satisfaction in a 
reunion with many old time friends and acquaintances, and as 
I look over the names of the gentlemen of your committee of 
invitation, I am pleased to see many who were boys with me 



y8 Semi-Centennial of 

at the old Academ}', and who have attained honorable dis- 
tinction in the city of their birth. 

I feel honored bv your remembrance, and am 

Very trulv vours, Thos. D. Green. 



FROM T. P. HANDY. 

Cleveland, Feb. 23, 1882. 
Robert S. Williams, Esq., Chairman: 

My Dear Sir — I am in receipt of 3'ours of 17th inst., inviting 
me to the Semi-Centeiinial Anniversary of the charter of your 
city on the first proximo, and regret that I cannot be present to 
participate in its exercises. 

The memory of my boyhood days in and abont Utica is 
alwaj^s pleasant to me when I recollect that the first beginnings 
of my business life were also formed there nearly sixty years 
ago, resulting in my being transplanted to Cleveland with 
others of your valued citizens. I cannot look upon it and its 
growth during the last half century but with increasing inter- 
est. The old Mohawk river, with its Durham boats ])ropelled 
by long, poles up and down its then broad current, being at 
that time its only avenue of commerce. The old red ware- 
house, used by Devereux and others, near the foot of Genesee 
street, w^ere then among the wonders of my early days. 

The changes during the past fifty years have been marked 
by more steady and substantial improvements, and while its 
growth has not equaled that of some of our western cities, it 
has always been distinguished for a solid and healthful progress 
among others of greater population. More than all, it can 
boast of its distinguished men and women, of its abounding 
charities, and its religious and benevolent culture, the influence 
of which has been felt all over our w^estern fields. Few cities 
have contributed so many able representatives both in our 
national councils, on the bench and at the bar, as has the city 
of Utica. 

The names of many of these men, both among the dead and 
the living, wnll doubtless be suggested in this review of its 
past history. I heartily congratulate you all, in its increasing 
prosperity and commanding influence, and trust the occasion 
will be one of great pleasure and ]-)rofit to those who are per- 
mitted to share in its exercises. 

Thanking yourself and the committee for your kind invita- 
tion, I remain, 

Yours very truly, T. P. Handy. 



The City of Utica. yg 

FROM HON. J. T. HEADLEY. 

Newburg, Feb. 27, 1882. 
To Robert S. Williams and others : 

Gentlemen — It would giv-e me great pleasure to accept jour 
kind invitation to be present at )'our Semi-Centennial Anni- 
versary of the charter of thecitj^ of Utica, but it will be impos- 
sible for me to do so. My recollections of Utica are of the 
most pleasant kind, though I suppose I shoukl hardly recog- 
nize it now. At the time I was there, if I remember right, it 
contained a population of onl}^ about 13,000, and a short gallop 
in every direction but one brought me into a most beautiful 
country, while a short walk in the latter took me into a natural 
forest. Then, too, if I remember right, there were but two hat 
stores and one hotel, deserving the name, in the place, while 
Genesee street meant Utica. Now all this is changed. The 
old Indian name, signifying " around the hill," though some- 
what indefinite, expresses the idea I have alwaj's had of the 
natural beauty of the place. 

Utica has also other associations that make it very dear to 
me. It holds the ashes of one whom I revered and loved above all 
else on earth. The history of Utica is of great interest from its 
first settlement as a mere outpost, up to 1798, wdien it was in- 
corporated as a village, as vvell as since, and I know I should 
listen with great pleasure to the reminiscences that will be 
evoked at your Semi-Centennial Anniversar}^ 

Yer}^ respectfully and trulj^ yours, 

J. T. Headley. 

FROM JOHN H. HENSHAW, ESQ. 

New York, Feb. 28, 1882. 
EoBERT S. Williams, Esq., Chairman : 

Dear Sir — I regret my inability to accept your invitation on 
behalf of the Oneida Historical Society, to attend the com- 
memorative exercises of the Semi-Centennial Anniversary of 
the charter of the city of Utica. My early associations and 
childhood days spent at my old home on Fayette street are 
very dear to me. My maternal grandmother, Abigail Handy, 
with her husband, settled in Utica many years before it re- 
ceived its charter, and identified themselves with its growth and 
progress. My father also Mr. J. Sidney Henshaw, during the 
years he was permitted to live in Utica, took ever an active in- 
terest in its w^elfare and prosperity, and at the time of his death 
was writing and compihng a history of the place. Had I ac- 
cess to his manuscripts and papers, I have no doubt that I 
could find many valuable documents, pamphlets and books 



8o Sei)ii-Ccntcii7iial of 

that would prove very interesting reading upon an occasion 
like the present. 

Yours respectfully, JoHN H. Henshaw. 



FROM JOHN W. HITCHCOCK, M. D. 
Mt. Yernon, Jefferson Co., 111., Feb. 25, 1SS2. 

To Robert S. Williams, Esq., Chairman, Hon. W. J. 

Bacon, et al.^ of Oneida Historical Society : 

Gentlemen — I have received within the last hour your invi- 
tion to be present on Wednesday, prox., when your society pro- 
poses to commemorate the Semi-Centennial Anniversary of the 
charter of the city of Utica. How happy I should feel if possibly 
I could be at the home of my nativity next week to meet those 
whose names — honored names — bringing to my mind recollec- 
tions of my boyhood days, touching my heart as only such re- 
minders can — make me young again, and I see the good peo- 
ple whom I knew so well and reverenced, e. ^r , the Williams, 
the Bacons, Comstocks, Sewards, Baggs, Roberts, Barnards, 
McQuades, Goodwins, Baileys, Sayre and Jones of 60 or 70 
years ago — and, moreover, I see scores of others, who by 
precept and example, prompted refined thoughts and noble 
action. When I think of Utica of long ago, T am reminded 
of certain words of Shakespeare in Richard II. " This 
other Eden, demi-paradise,' and fifty-two years in the 
great west have failed to produce to me its superior ; 
hence my gratitude and thankfulness for this note before 
me, dated February 17, 1882, to which this scribbled acknowl- 
edgement carries but a feeble return. If Judge Breese was 
here, as he formerly came, we would consider historical and 
other facts pre-historical (?), would judge and bring forth such 
as we were conversant with near the beginning of this century, 
and write you a letter perhaps worth reading on the first of 
March at Utica. I have time to write very briefly and hastily. 
Your kind note was a week coming hither. It should have 
come in two days. The fact is, recent deluging rains have so 
broken up all railroads that transportation and travel are seri- 
ously interrupted. For five or six days we have not received 
mails which usually arrive here daily, and the possibility of 
getting hence to Utica is only ideal, and my desires are, as it 
were, in rnedias res, that is, mixed in floods, washouts, broken 
bridges, blockades of cars, dismal prospects, uncertain locomo- 
tion. The prospect is more discouraging than I had. in 1830, 
when, having waited a day or so on account of a heavy rain 
storm, I started from home and drove one good horse about 
six weeks to the " far west," a myth, supposed to be near 
where I halted on the Wabash. My long ride carried me into 



The City of Utica. 8i 

regions oi some historical note ; brought acquaintance with 
General Harrison and the good and great Abraham Lincoln ; 
gave me acquaintance with the Black Hawk war, as volun- 
teer and otherwise ; led me upon mounds upon which I stood 
considering archaeological questions. First among them I 
asked: Who were the mound builders ? And next, when did 
they build? I dug for relics without learning the who, the 
when, the why satisfactorily. Out in the great prairies I went, 
where trees were not to be seen, and I reflected upon the causes, 
the great convulsions, which drifted soil so widely, so smoothl}^, 
and to such great length. I stepped upon a solitary boulder, 
an immense rounded rock, lying upon the surface of the prairie 
and wondered how large a piece of ice would be required to 
transport it to the spot where it apparently had been dropped. 
I have been at times so lost in wild contemplation of bewilder- 
ing scenes new tome fifty years ago, that only a rattlesnake, 
buzzing near me, could change my reflections. I did not in- 
dulge such vain things very often, but occasionally I could 
not escape what Hamlet characterizes thus : " Thoughts be- 
yond the reaches of our souls." The great varied earth's 
surface and what it covers, between the muddy waters of the 
Mississippi and the Pacific ocean, will not let our thoughts 
rest. " Knowledge is power," (Bacon,) and it stirs our weak- 
ness to reach, that is if our minds are right. 

May every good aid your efforts historically and otherwise. 
With great regard I am truly 3^ours ever, 

John W. Hitchcock, M. D. 



FROM J. C. HOADLEY. 

Boston, Mass., Feb. 22, 1SS2. 
Robert S. Williams, Esq., Chairman, etc. : 

Your circular, bearing date February 17, current, inviting 
me to attend a commemoration of the Semi-Centennial Anni- 
versary of the charter of the city of Utica, on Wednesday, 
March 1, came to hand last evening, forwarded from Lawrence. 
I take great pleasure in accepting said invitation, and shall not 
fail to be present unless something now unforeseen should 
occur to prevent. 

I shall, if possible, start (~)n Monday, I recognize as old 
acquaintances, M. M. Bagg, C. W. Hutchinson and M. M. 
Jones, of your committee. 

Yours truly, J. C. Hoadley. 



82 Senii-Ccntciniial of 



FROM JOSEPH B. HOYT, ESQ. 

Cazenovia, Feb. 27th, 1882. 

To Robert S. Williams, and Gentlemen of the Oneida His- 
torical Society : 

Your favor of the 17th instant came duly to hand. It has 
been well said that '"history is philosophy teaching by ex- 
ample." Such being the case, it is manifest that Historical 
Societies, with periodical celebrations of important events, 
must be of great use to the public at large, in preserving the 
memorj" of such events, and thereby keeping alive public 
spirit in the minds of citizens generally. Hence I am highly 
gratified that the " Oneida Histoi'ical Societ}- '" propose to 
celebrate the Semi-Centennial Anniversary of the granting a 
city charter to Utica, my native city, where I have resided the 
largest part of my life, and been honored by three annual 
elections as alderman of the second ward, and three more as 
supervisor thereof. It was thirty years the 25th instant since 
I left Utica to reside at Cazenovia. During that period many 
of Utica's most esteemed and highly honored citizens have 
gone to that '• undiscovered country from wdiose bourne no 
traveler returns.'' 

Among them, I flatter mj^self, I had as many friends as 
usuall}' fall to the lot of humble individuals like myself. At 
all events I cherish their memory with much respect and with 
heartfelt gratitude for their friendship. I remember also with 
great pleasure my career as alderman and supervisor in your 
beautiful and flourishing city. 

It is unnecessar}^, however, for me to dilate on this part of 
my life, as your public records will show what part I had in 
your city affairs. 

Utica is still m}' favorite city, wherein I have the satisfaction 
of believing I have many true friends, among whom I hope I 
may be permitted to number the members of our very useful 
" Historical Society." 

Did my health permit, I should very much enjoy being 
present at our meeting on the 1st of March, to take part in the 
Semi-Centennial exercises on that very interesting occasion, 
and to meet the well known faces of my old friends in Utica 
and its vicinity^ 

With much respect and regard, gentlemen, I remain 

Yours most truly, Joseph B. Hoyt. 



The City of Utica. 8j 



FROM HON. WARD HUNT. 

Washington, D. C, Feb. 23, 1882. 
Hon. R S. Williams. Chairman: 

Dear Sir — I feel a deep interest in your celebration, as I re- 
member well when the village of Utica became a city, with 
Joseph Kirkland as its Mayor. I was absent, but recall the 
ardor which I felt when informed that Mr. Kirkland had 
accepted the nomination. 

Many men of note have filled the office since then, such as 
Henry Seymour, John C. Devereux and Charles P. Kirkland, 
and at a later daj^, Horatio Seymour and James Watson 
Wilhams, all of whom were well known to me. I bear in 
mind the names of Bleecker Lansing, Jared E. Warner, Joseph 
B. Hoyt, Charles Tracy and George Tracy among the alder- 
men. 

At the time that Utica became a city I was but a lad of 
twenty-one years of age ; now I rank among its oldest living 
Mayors. Indeed, I know of no one, except Thomas Hopper, 
jNTorman C. Newell, Theodore P. Ballou and Daniel Shadrach 
among the natives of the city who are older than I am. 

On this account, and from so many years' attachment to the 
place, it is a sincere regret that, owing -to ill health, I cannot be 
wuth you in its celebration. 

Yours respectfully, Ward Hunt. 



FROM HENRY HURLBURT. 

Bloomfielu, N. J., Feb. 28, 1882. 
R S. WiLLiA]\[S, Esq., Utica, K Y.: 

Dear Sir — I am sorry I cannot be at the Sem.i- Centennial 
celebration to-morrow. There is no place but Utica that seems 
like home to me, and that, I think, is the brief history of the 
feelings of all its old inhabitants. And what an eventful his- 
tory has the last half century been to most of us who are now 
living ! In this period we have seen the rise, progress and fall 
of nearly all those we loved and honored of its old inhabitants. 
Trusting you may have an interesting celebration and resolve 
to restore your city councils to the hands of men of the respec- 
table character that at first were called to them, 

I remain yours very sincerely, 

Henry Hurlburt. 



S^ Scnii-Cciitcnnial of 

FROM HENRY IVISON. 

New York, Feb. iil, 18S2. 
Mr. Roberts. Williams: 

My Dear Friend — I have received the printed circular of the 
Oneida Historical Society, calling a meeting of ihe Utica boys 
on the 1st of March, or a response in writing. 

The position which I occupied in Utica from 1820 to 1830 
was of so quiet and unimportant a character to every one but 
myself that I can say nothing that would be of interest to any 
one now residing there. I was an honored member of your 
father's family during those ten years, and I shall, while life 
lasts, liold in grateful remembrance every member of that dear 
family. Utica has no reason to be ashamed of her sons ; they 
are known and honored in every calling and profession and in 
every part of the world. I sincerely hope that you may have 
a large and delightful gathering, and that I shall have the 
pleasure of reading the proceedings, as I cannot be present in 
person. With kindest regards to yourself, 

I remain yours truly, H. IviSON. 



FROM HON. THOMAS L. JAMES. 

New York, Feb. 24, 1882. 

K. S. WiLLiAM.s, Esq., and others^ Committee: 

Gentlemen — I thank you for your invitation to be present 
at the Semi-Centennial Anniversary of the charter of the city 
of Utica, to be held under the auspices of the Oneida Histori- 
cal Society, on Wednesday, the 1st of March. 

As a native of Utica, at this remove, marking her steady and 
solid growth in population and wealth, in manufacturing in- 
dustries and railway facilities, which make her the center of a 
large and growing ti-ade ; noting the charities of her citizens, 
as shown in the erection of asylums and hospitals, and proud 
of your admirable S3^stem of public schools, nothing would 
give me greater pleasure than to meet, on such an occasion as 
this, the men to whose energy, enterprise and zeal the city owes 
so much of its prosperity, and to listen not only to the historic 
reminiscences of the last fifty years, but to the golden proph- 
ecies and promises of the future ; but, much to my regret, my 
business engagements conspire to prevent my being with you, 
and I am reluctantl}- compelled to decline your invitation. 

Thanking you again for your courtesy, and trusting that the 
occasion may be one of great interest, 

I am very truly, Thos. L. James. 



TJie City of Utica. 85 

FROM W. C. JOHNSON, ESQ. 

Newburg, Monday, Feb. 20, 1882. 
Egbert S. Williatvis, Esq., Chairman^ etc., Utica, N. Y. : 

Dear Sir — I am favored this day with an invitation from the 
" committee of the Oneida Historical Society, to take part in 
a celebration of the Semi Centennial Anniversary of the 
charter of the city of Utica. 

It is with extreme regret I foresee my inability to be present 
in person, a regret the more poignant as I recognize in each 
member of your committee, from my venerated preceptor in 
the law — still happily enjoying an honored aftermath — down 
through the list, each and all pleasantly remembered associates 
and friends of my early years. 

Wlio may measure or explain ". . . qua natale solum 
dulcedine captos ducit.'''' 

I can only say that as Utica was, so it ever has been and 
always will be "home to me." Though circumstances led me 
hence ^'' Nihil Uticense alienuvi me putoy 

From its very beginning the home of my ancestors, it still 
holds most who are dear to me amongst its living and its dead, 
and with true heart, in the house I long ago prepared, I shall, 
ere yet a little while, myself be laid to rest " till the shadows 
flee away." 

Pardon the personal character of this note. Time is not 
sufficient for maturing anything of general interest, were it 
otherwise in my power, and kindly express to your associates 
the high appreciation of their remembrance of 

Yours verv truly, W. C. Johnson. 



FROM J. WYMAN JONES, ESQ. 

Englewood, N. J., Feb. 22, 1882. 
EoBERT S. Williams, Esq., Chairman, &c.: 

My Dear Sir — The invitation of the Oneida Historical 
Society, to attend the Semi-Centennial Anniversary of the 
charter of the city of Utica, on the 1st of March next, is re- 
ceived. I sincerely^ regret that an imperative engagement in the 
city of St. Louis, on the second day of March, renders it im- 
possible for me to accept the invitation. 

The city of Utica was to me a charming place of residence 
for ten years. It is the birth-place of my children and their 
mother — the sepulcher and present abode of many of their 
kindred — the home of some of my most cherished friends. 

It is endeared to me by most delightful memories, of profes- 
sional intercourse with its able lawvers — of its social life — its 



86 Semi-Ccntciuiial of 

devotion to art, music and literature, and the high character of 
its men of business. 

It is my belief (speaking from impressions derived from my 
residence there) that in no city in the world is there more de- 
lightful and rational home-life, in ])roportion to the population, 
than in lltica. Neither is there a city of its size so dis- 
tinguished for the ability of its professional men, for the gen- 
eral culture of its citizens, and the courageous enterprise they 
have displayed. 

Being, therefore, as fond and proud of old Utica as if she 
were my native city, it would give me unqualified pleasure to 
unite in the exercises proposed in commemoration of its charter, 
were it possible. 

With kind regards to your committee, nearly every one of 
whom I recall as a personal friend of the good old "days o' lang 
syne." I am, sincerely yours, 

J. Wyman Jones. 



FROM HON. POMROY JONES. 

Eajkdsville, Feb. 25, 1882. 
To THE Oneida Historical Society : 

Gentlemen — I am too infirm to attend your meeting on the 
1st of March. My eyes are so dimmed that I have to employ 
an amanuensis to put down ni}^ little jottings, I was born in 
Whiteslown, Montgomery county, not the diminutive town it 
is now in area. Within the town bounded as it was then, there 
are now over one million inhabitants. In a few years they 
spread Herkimer, and then Oneida county, over my residence, 
and yet I have lived all my life within thirty feet of where I 
was born. The farm on which I live was the westernmost 
clearing in the state except Indian settlements. I can just re- 
member the 7 by 9 log cabin in which I was born. It soon 
gave way to a more pretentious log house. The first time I 
was in Qtica was in December, 1794; then a few small houses 
graced the plot of what is now the lower part of the city. 

The next time was in 1798. Then two or three small stores 
had been started on what is now the lower part of Genesee 
street. I did not see the fictitious store of John B. McNamara, 
late of New York, who advertised West India rum at seventy- 
five cents a gallon, and other things equally low, who, 
when inquired for by a person from the country, was uni- 
formly directed to the printer. These little stores were 
soon replaced by twostory framed buildings, and in a few 
years these in turn gave place to structures of brick, and 
some of the brick buildings have got into their third edi- 
tion. And what has made Utica in its present location? 



The City of Utica. Sj 

Judge Sanger, the master spirit of the Seneca Road Co , got the 
road incorporporated in 1800, and it must needs pass through 
New Hartford and strike the Mohawk below, at the most con- 
venient point, which was found to be the lower part of Genesee 
street. New Hartford, at one time, it was said, did more busi- 
ness than Utica, but with the location on the Mohawk and other 
advantages, Utica soon outstripped New Hartford. I remem- 
ber the first stage coach that Jason Parker ran west from Utica. 
In a few months he advertised to run a stage three times a 
week to Canandaigua and back. He soon started a daily line, 
and then four daily lines, each way. On one occasion an in- 
dividual called on Mr. Parker to hire out as a stage-driver. Mr. 
Parker said he wanted to hire one, but he wanted one that 
could drive. The individual claimed he had had experience in 
New England. Mr. Parker "'said, there is a team and coach in 
the yard; you may drive me to Whitesboro." The driver had 
something of the rogue in his composition, and he struck every 
stone in the road going and returning, so that Mr. Parker's posi- 
tion in the coach was not a very settled one. Mr. Parker saw 
that it was done on purpose, and when they ^ot back to Utica 
he says to the driver : " If you can hit all the stones, you can 
miss them ; I will hire you." Pomroy Jones, 

Affed 92 December 30, 1881. 



FROM SAMUEL A. JONES. M. D. 

Ann Arbor, Mich., Feb. 22, 1882. 

My Dear Sir — The invitation of the Oneida Historical So- 
ciety awakens the memories of forty years ago, and lam filled 
with such music as I had not hoped to hear this side of heaven ! 

To meet with you on March 1st, will be to go back to boy- 
hood, and to know again some superlative gii'lhood. OlV! how 
the roses did bloom some forty years ago ! 

But, alas ! to come back to Utica is to find many and many 
a " vacant chair," and to grow tear-blind over graves filled by 
an untimely fate. Yet one can be proud even in tears, and 
Utica may be all that: her dead ones are an honor ; her living 
not a disgrace. 

God willing I will share your joy in thankfulness on the ap- 
pointed day. 

Sincerely yours, Samuel A. Jones. 

EoBERT S. Williams, Esq. 



88 Seiui-Ccntcnnial of 

FROM REV. GEORGE LEEDS, D. D. 

171 Park Ave., Baltimore, Feb. 25, 1882. 
MeSvSrs. Robert S. Williams, and others: 

Gentlemen — I must ask your indulgence for a seemingly 
late reply to your favor of the 17tli inst. for it came in my 
absence on a melancliol)^ duty in Boston, from which I have 
just returned. Though it is not in my power to accept your 
invitation to the Semi-Centennial commemoration of the char- 
ter of the city of Utica, to be held the 1st prox. under the 
auspices of the Oneida Histoi-ical Society, it would in ordinary 
circumstances have given me a rare pleasure to do so. 

Allow me to say, that T regard your beautiful city as one of 
my homes. Forty years ago next autumn I began my ministry 
in Utica, when the fathers of the generation now upon the 
stage were its active citizens. As I recall the worth, the solid 
intelligence and true refinement that I used to meet with at 
that early period, I can hardly credit the fact, that it was all 
the product of a single generation of culture in a modest, 
though aspiring town. The explanation, no doubt, was to be 
found in the character and talent and taste that had been 
brought together from various quarters, to make up its infant 
settlement. I can wish nothing better for the future of Utica 
than that it shall be like her past. The crowning privilege of 
a people is an honored parentage. 

I am happy to be recognized by you to-day as your former 
fellow^ citizen ; and I cherish the hope that I shall yet be 
counted of your number again, when we too shall be gathered 
unto our fathers and our dust shall mingle with the sacred 
ashes of many, once dear and never forgotten. 

I am vours. gentlemen, with sincere and grateful esteem, 

Geor«e Leeds. 



FROM JAMES M. LEWIS. 

New York, Feb. 21:, 1882. 

Robert S. Williams, Esq., Chairman^ etc. : 

Dear Sir — I thank you much for your invitation to be present 
at the Semi-Centennial celebration of the charter of your city 
on the 1st proximo. I exceedingly legret that my engagements 
here will prevent my accepting the invitation extended to me 
as a " former resident.'" 

In the month of April, 1832, I became a resident of your 
city, almost at its birth, and during upwards of twelve years" 
residence I made many friends, most of whom have gone to 
that " bourne from whence no traveler returns :" but I am 



The City of Utica. 8g 

liappy to say that a few of the friendships then formed exist to 
the present day, and I assure you it would afford me pleasure 
to meet them on the occasion to which you refer. 

The growth of your city for the last fifty years, though per- 
haps not so great as many of her sisters, has been steady and 
substantial, of which her citizens may justly feel proud. 

Again regretting that I cannot be present, I am 

Yours very truly, James M. Lewis. 

FROM J. A. LINTNER. 

Albany, Feb. 27, 1882. 
Mr. R. S. Williams, Chairman: 

My Dear Sir — Your invitation to unite in the exercises com- 
memorative of the Semi-Centennial Anniversary of the charter 
of the city of Utica, on the first prox., is received. I regret 
that I am unable to be with you on that occasion, promising as 
it does, to be a most interesting one. The reminiscences of fifty 
years ago, and of subsequent events and progress, in view of 
your present proud position, cannot fail of being delightful. 
You will have much of which you may justly boast. Although 
but for a few years I had place among your citizens, yet I retain 
many pleasant recollections of my sojourn with 3''ou ; and from 
the honest pride that I feel in my relationship to one whose 
labors contributed so largely to the growth of your city, I 
venture to bespeak in behalf of the memory of Holmes Hutch- 
inson, the tribute of mention and a thought, as you will recall 
the honored ones, no longer with you, who aided in making 
you the Utica of to-day. 

I am, sir, very truly 3'ours, J. A. Lintnek. 

FROM W. K. LOTHROP. 

New York, Feb. 27, 1882. 
Robert S. Williams, Esq., Chairvian: 

Dear Sir — I received your invitation at the proper time, but 
failed to notice youi" request for an immediate response, for 
which pardon me. 

I regret I cannot come. Business, that inexorable master of 
the average "American citizen," says " No," and I submit with 
as good grace as I can. 

I left Utica in the fall of 1831, and emigrated to Syracuse, 
then in its infancy. I followed the example of my immediate 
ancestors and " went West " then. The first twenty years of 
my life were spent in Utica. The remembrances of them are 
pleasant. 1 recall the pranks of my boyhood with a mirth dif- 
ficult to express in any language now in use. I have ever been 



go Scuii-Ccntcniiial of 

proud of my native city and county, and have striven to so 
" behave myself '" that said city and county should not be 
ashamed of me. 

What more can I say ? What more can yoa expect of a 
man whose head, for years, has been "an ant hill of units and 
tens."' 

'■ Mail, througli all ages of revolving time, 
Unchanging man, in every varying clime, 
Deems his own land of every land the pride, 
Beloved of Heaven o'er all the world beside ; 
His home the spot of earth, supremely l)lest, 
A dearer, sweeter spot than all the rest." 

Yery respectfully, W:m. K. Lothrof. 

FROM REV. S. K. LOTHROP, D. D. 

12 Chestnut Street, Boston, Feb. 27, 1882. 
Hon. R. S. Williams, Chairman, etc.: 

My Dear Sir — I thank you and the committee for the invita- 
tion with which I have been honored, to be present at the com- 
memoration by the Oneida Historical Society of the Semi-Cen- 
tennial Anniversary of the charter of the city of Utica, on 
Wednesday, March 1st, 1882. I have not been quite so well 
as usual this winter, and greatly regret that the present state of 
my health forbids ray acceptance of this agreeable invitation. 
Nothing would have given me greater pleasure than to be pres- 
ent on this interesting occasion. 

I ceased to be a resident of Utica in 1817, sixty-five years 
ago next September ; but in all this time never, I think, have 
more than two years passed without my making a visit to my 
relatives and friends there. I have a pretty distinct recollec- 
tion of it as far back as 180S-9, so that I have been more or less 
familiar with it for nearly seventy years, and have, as it were, 
seen it grow from a small village, on the bank of the Mohawk, 
up to its present extended limits and beautiful aspects, through 
which it may fairly claim to be the Queen City of Central New 
York, A very large proportion of the names in that interest- 
ing volume. Dr. Bagg's " Pioneers of Utica," and all the en- 
gravings iu it, save that of Mr. Alfred Munson, I recognize as 
the names and portraits of persons who were familiar to my 
childhood, and some of them to my maturer years. From that 
book, as well as from rny own memory and observation, I 
know that the growth of Utica has been solid and substantial ; 
that, through the wisdom, public spirit and beneficence of her 
citizens, everything pertaining to the highest and best interests 
of a commanity — schools, academies, churches, institutions for 
the relief and comfort of suffering humanity — all these have 
been established and maintained in a flourishing condition. 



The City of Utica. gi 

I know the high standard of intellectual and moral charac- 
ter of the people of Utica, and what a large number of eminent 
men in all the walks of professional life have, from time to time, 
been reared or gathered within its borders, or have gone forth 
from it to fill with honor and usefulness important public posi- 
tions. 

In short, as one of her sons, I am proud of Utica, its past and 
present, and its promise for the future. I never visit it without 
satisfaction, and never leave it without rejoicing, that while I 
go back to Cape Cod for mj first American ancestors, and after 
a residence of more than sixty years, cannot help being loyal 
to Massachusetts, I have yet, by right of birth, by the mem- 
ories of childhood and the associations of maturer years, a 
claim upon me, which I delight to acknowledge, for loyalty to 
New York — especially to the Mohawk valley, CTtica and Onei- 
da county — all three of which, in their history and in the 
character of their people, are as honorable as the valley, the 
city and the county are remarkable in their beauty. 

With my best wishes for your commemoration, that it may 
be in every way a success — a just tribute to the j)ast and an in- 
spiration to the future, 

I have the honor to be your friend and obedient servant, 

S. K. LOTHROP. 



FROM A. R. MACDONOUGH, ESQ. 

New York, Feb. 28, 1S82. 
Dr. M. M. Bagg : 

Dear Sir — I have delayed answering the polite invitation of 
your committee, in the hope of being present in person on the 
occasion. 

But, life is made up of hopes, delays and disappointments, 
and I find but a moment left in which to express my regret 
that I cannot take a part in the interesting celebration pro- 
posed. 

Yours very truly, A. R. Macdonoi^gh. 

FROM DR. M. I). MANN. 

Hartford, Feb. 25, 1882. 
Mr. R. S. Williams : 

Dear Sir — I regret that I shall be unable to be present in 
Utica on the occasion of the Semi-Centennial. 

T shall always take a great interest in Utica and all that per- 
tains to it, and it would give me great pleasure if I could be 
there, but it is impossible for me to get away. 

I am yours very truly, M. D. Mann. 



9- Scnii-Ccntcnnial of 

FROM ELI MANCHESTER, JR. 

New Haven, Feb. 27, 1882. 
Egbert S. Williams, Esq., Chairman: 

Dear Sir — Your circular which you sent my father duly re- 
ceived. As father is unwell I would say in answer that he 
would be very happy to be present at the anniversarv, but that 
it is impossible, on account of a hard cold which keeps him 
within doors. Enclosed you will find a letter written to him 
by his brother, Otis Manchester, formerly a resident of Utica, 
and also one of the former aldermen, which we think you may 
like to read on the occasion. Father does not feel able to write, 
so sends this instead. 

Whether you make use of the enclosed or not, please be 
kind enough to return it promptly, as father values it highly as 
written liy his brother, who has now passed awav. 

Hoping your anniversary will prove a success in every way, 
I am yours very truly, Eli Manchester, Jr., 

152 Columbus Avenue, New Haven, Conn. 



FROM LUTHER R. MARSH, ESQ. 

New York, Feb. 2t5, 1882. 

Messrs. Egbert S. Williams, Chairman, and William J. 

Bacon, and other's, Committee : 

Gentlemen — I seize the earliest intermission, to thank you 
for your kind remembrance, and to express my regret that 
I cannot be with you to enjoy so pleasurable a reunion 
as that of the Semi-Centennial Anniversary of the charter 
of Utica. The occasion would be one of great interest to 
me ; intertwined, as your city is, with the pleasing memories of 
youth. You might also have included, in the same celebra- 
tion, the centennial commemoration of the first settlement of 
the central city of our state, for it was a hundred years ago 
that two log houses arose to keep each other company, on the 
site, which soon became old Fort Schuyler, and, afterwards, 
Utica. 

Your present charter — ]:)ractically the fourth — was not a 
very ancient document when I went to Utica to live ; but its 
locks are now somewhat sprinkled with grey by the lapse of 
fifty years. It has guarded well the interests and advanced 
the prosperity of your lovely city ; a city, which, w^hethei- 
from the glamour of youthful imagination, or for more sub- 
stantial reasons, always stands before me as one of peculiar 
interest and romance. I cannot help thinking that I had the 
good fortune to reside at Utica in its very halcyon days. There 



The City of Utica. gj 

were still living many of the old pioneers — men of wealth, 
character and strength — to whom your town was indebted for 
its prosperity and repute, and who gave it dignity. The pul- 
pits were filled by men of exceptional learning and eloquence. 
There came also for a residence at Utica, the chiefs of the bar, 
to disport themselves and test their intellectual might, before 
courts and juries. Enthusiastically as I enjoyed the society of 
Utica, of its brilliant young men, of its peerless girls, its hos- 
pitable courtesies, I yet looked with still greater interest upon 
those giants of that profession to which I was to devote my 
life. There came also young men from all parts of the state, 
as to the great center of legal education, to learn in the offices 
of the masters, and to list their high debates in the grove of 
the academ}^ There, in a room in Pond's Temperance Hotel, 
was written " The Glory and Shame of England," a book 
which swept over the country like a prairie fire ; and whose les- 
sons, in the present attitude of England toward us, might 
well be rehearsed. There, was the center and animated im- 
pulse of that anti-slavery agitation — with its moral and intel- 
lectual heroes — which, encountering the fiercest opposition, and 
ti'iumphing over mobs by its brave determination, at last up- 
heaved the deep foundations of society throughout the nation, 
and culminated in that fiery battle-storm, that left the air pure, 
and the land free, of our whole domain, and revealed the es- 
cutcheon of America, with every stain erased. 

But there would come to me a mingled sentiment of sadness, 
amidst all my rejoicing ; for, not only have most of the men of 
that day, who renowned your city, gone to join the majority, 
but the generation of 3^oung men, also ; as, William Wallace 
McCall, Huet E. Eoot, Henry K. Hart, Charles Hurlburt, 
George Thomas, John H. Edmonds, William C. Barrett, 
Mathew D. Bagg. John K. Hackett, and many others — youths, 
then, full of vitality, and entering on the competition of life 
with ardent hopes and prospects all aglow. 

Your city, in concurrently contributing the two United States 
Senators from New York, and. at the same time, a Judge of the 
Federal Court, continues to maintain the influence and reputa- 
tion she formerly held, when she filled the office of Attorney 
General of the state, with three successive appointees, Talcott, 
Bronson and Beardsley. 

Utica has been fortunate in her historian ; for few would 
have had patience to gather, and the skill to weave, the in- 
cidents of her early life, and the biographies of her early 
citizens, so well as it has been done in the " Pioneers of Utica." 
He has brought the record down to near the end of the " Third 
Dynasty ;" — not trenching on the period of your present 
charter — and it is to be hoped that this anniversary will stimu- 
ate the author to resume his labor of love, and volume the 



g^ Semi-Centcnnial of 

history of Utica, from the time he left it, in 1825, down to this 
blessed 3'ear of 1882. That would be so in the line of the 
object of 3^our society, that I doubt not you would cordially 
hail his resolution to attempt it. I have felt the need of this 
continuation ; for, often in looking through its pages for some 
familiar name and family, I have found they were excluded by 
the inexorable date of 1825. 

Wishing you, and all who shall have the pi'ivilegeof attend- 
ing the anniversary, the " pleasures of memoiy " in recalling 
the past, the joj's of reunion in contemplating the present, and 
the " pleasures of hope " in forecasting the future, 

I am, cordially vours, Luther R Marsh. 



FROM MRS. CORNELIA W. MARTIN. 

WiLLOAVBROOK, N. Y., Feb. 28th, 1882. 
Mr. Robert S. Williams : 

Dear Sir — Mr. Martin acknowedges with many thanks your 
kind invitation to him to be present at the meeting of the 
Oneida Historical Society, to commemorate the Semi Centennial 
Anniversary of the charter of thecitvof Utica on Wednesday, 
March 1st, "1882. 

As Mr. Martin is not well enough to comply with your 
request to be present on an occasion which cannot fail to be one 
of great interest to the citizens of Utica, he has requested me, 
in expressing the regret he feels in being unable to join the 
friends who will meet together on Wednesday, to say something 
in relation to my own early associations with Utica. My 
father came to Utica in the year 1800, and when the charter 
was obtained constituting our little town a city, he was elected 
alderman. The occasion called forth " the chronicles of LTiica,'" 
by Thomas Flandrau, a paper which I hope may be produced 
at the meeting of the Historical Society on the first of March, 
1882. That year, 1832, was memorable on account of the 
presence in our city of the Asiatic cholera, when Mr. and Mrs. 
Williams gave themselves to the care of the sick and dying, 
going from house to house to minister to all classes of the com- 
munity and helping b}^ their faith and fortitude and tender 
ministrations to encourage the faint hearted and to administer 
relief to the suffering. Their work of faith and labor of love 
can never be forgotten, and will no doubt be recalled by man}^ 
with the memories of the year when Utica first became a city, 

With the assurance of our deep interest in this Semi-Centen- 
nial Anniversary, and many thanks for your kind remembrance, 
believe me, 

Yery sincerely yours, Cornelia W. Martin. 



The City of Uiiai. 95 

FROM HENRY MERRELL. 

Camden, Ark., May 4tb, 1882. 
To Dr. Bagg and others of the PiMication Committee^ dx\ 

Gentlemen — Thanks for 3'onr circular letter of the 12th 
ultimo giving absentees from the Semi-Centennial an 'opportu- 
nity to amend their written responses. I will avail myself of 
this option to send in place of my former letter a sketch of 

THE WHITTLING CLUB 

of fifty or sixty j^ears ago in Utica. Although sufficiently judg- 
matical in its lucubrations it was not in the least a court of 
record. In point of fact, it cannot be said to have been ever 
quite conscious of its own existence as a club. It never con- 
vened, in the technical sense of that word, and it never 
adjourned. There was, probably, never a full meeting of the 
club, and certainly it was never without a quorum when so 
many as one member was present, for any one of them by him- 
self alone, could whittle away and be happy ; seeing the}^ 
were, primaril3% for the most part old bachelors and therefore 
pretty well used to that mode of existence. 

Now and then an elderly married man — a man of experience- 
would drop in for an hour or so, but never, (you may rely upon 
it,) to stay many minutes after the nine o'clock bell. 

Their time of meeting was after business hours any night in 
the week excepting Sunday ; with the benefit of a doubt still 
lingering in the minds of several whether the Sabbath did or 
did not begin in New York State, as it always had done in 
Connecticut, at sundown the day before. 

Their place of meeting was on Genesee street opposite Cath- 
arine, in the back end of a brick store occupied by the firm of 
John Camp & Brothers. The Camp Brothers, three in number, 
John, Harry and Charles, were one and all, of the same persua- 
sion as to matrimony : they were bachelors, and as such may 
be set down as the nucleus of the club. Every member was 
supposed to carry somewhere about his person a penknife ; that 
being, in those days, a necessary part of one's outfit, be he 
business man, professional gentleman, or a big boy at school. 
An exact line between the refinement of pen-making and 
mending, and the vulgarity of whittling has to be drawn some- 
where and it may as well be laid down just where the pen- 
knife left off and the jackknife began. 

The whittling club, notwithstanding its name, was, of course, 
superior to jacknives. Each member, as he dropped in after 
tea, before taking his seat quietly and as a matter of course, (if 
he felt inclined to whittle,) reached up and took his own par- 
ticular shingle from its place just where he had left it, perhaps 



g6 Seiiii-Ceiitciiuial of 

a month before, when about to set out on that hazardous and 
fatiguing journey to New York city and back ; the whole of 
which he was full ready to narrate for the asking, with par- 
ticulars of perils from the Yancies at Little Falls, a missing 
linch-pin at Tribe's Hill, damp linen sheets at one Dutch tavern 
on the road, and shocking pillow-cases at another; and worst 
of all the man who snored in his berth below-decks on board 
the Hudson river boat, the "North America." 

The seams and fissures of the posts and wood- work overhead, 
in which those reserves of white-pine shingles bristled, were 
manifestly the results of a kiln-drying process of long standing, 
occasioned by the glowing heat of that remarkable stove around 
which the whittling club assembled. That rude forefather of all 
Utica stoves had come down to them from a former generation — 
before ever even the Taberg furnace was in blast. A more in- 
artificial stove there never was. It was a stove adapted to the 
understanding of any wild Indian who bartered his furs and 
ginseng root, at John Post's store, for drink and ammunition ; 
because, like his own wigwam, its heat and smoke were free to 
escape together through a hole in the top. A stove which 
twenty years later gave assurance of a warm welcome to many 
and many a Welsh-speaking woodman approaching the town 
with heavy sleigh-loads of potash and some vension from the 
new clearings beyond the Deerfield hills. A stove to make 
them feel at home close around it, for was it not akin to one of 
their potash kettles inverted, squared, truncated, and mounted 
on slender legs, and at the same time, like unto their camp- 
fires, consuming always the maximum of fire-wood to the min- 
imum of heat. 

If this writing were a fable, in which a cast-iron stove might 
be said to have a moral nature, and be a very hard case at 
that ; we should say Utica society had been full lenient towards 
that stove in its old age ; considering what is known of its 
vicious career. Believed to have been the incendiary which in 
February, 1804, burned John Post's store to the ground, it 
survived that conilagration, in which it ought to have perished, 
to flourish fifty years longer, corrupting each rising generation 
of new and improved warming stoves by its own reckless waste 
of fuel and its unsightly appearance. 

Was it then a wholesome lesson for the rising generation, 
when that disreputable old stove, instead of being ignominiously 
smashed into pot-metal, was borne in triumph down Genesee 
street to a certain hardware store, then and there to receive the 
apotheosis of brass knobs, and thus mounted to be esteemed 
for want of something better; as a sort of palladium to the city 
of Utica? 

After what has been said, there can be no reasonable objec- 
tion to a short sketch of some notable conversations touching 



The City of Utica. gy 

current events, which might have been overheard by that stove, 
if those brass knobs had been there from the first, to serve as 
ears, and provided always that what they heard had not '" gone 
in at one ear and out the other," to as little purpose as the fuel 
went in at that stove's door, and as smoke went straight out at 
the chimney. 

What very circumstantial narratives might not the members 
themselves have given of events within their own knowledge 
along the Canadian frontier, during the war of 1812 to ISlo. 
How, for instance, several of them had won imperishable re- 
nown by volunteering, out-of-hand, to march for the immediate 
relief of Sacketts Harbor, after the British were come and gone ; 
and what discussions w^ere there not, to settle the grave ques- 
tion whether Harry Camp was legally a dead man, or still alive 
to all intents and purposes. It seems that he had been drafted 
for the war, and instead of going himself had hired a substitute, 
and that substitute was killed in battle ; the question then 
being, was Uncle Harry, after the killing of his substitute, to 
consider himself, in point of law, as good as dead? The con- 
clusion reached at last was that, as it could not be affirmed that 
going into a battle in place of his substitute. Uncle Harry's legs 
would have let him stay there long enough to get himself 
killed, therefore he was still alive, and might have been drafted 
to go again. 

Born in Utica several months '• before the Indian was hung," 
the writer was, of course, too small a boy to join in conversa- 
tion with such " grave and reverend seniors " as those who 
frequented the Whittling Club. How it happened that ever I 
was privileged to be present at any of its sittings, even as a 
stow-away, I cannot tell, unless it may have been that my small 
escort was convenient to my grandfather, Talcott Camp, Esq., 
who was the venerable father of " the boys," as he called the 
firm of John, Henry and Charles. An old-time gentleman he ! 
Dignity and self-respect characterized his deportment always 
and everywhere. How often did he remind me, in so many 
words, that there were no boys of late years like the boys of 
his own time ! Often, when a freshman at old Yale, had he, 
without grumbling, brought salt water in a clam-shell all the 
way from Long-wharf to '' the Hall," at the behest of a senior 
whose protection he enjoyed as " fag." He once told the 
writer, with evident satisfaction, that in all his raising — at Dur- 
ham, in Connecticut — he had never presumed to pass either in 
or out at the front door of his father's house without lifting his 
hat and saluting its threshhold with more less of a bow ! 

It was to me a Rembrandt picture always, that Whittling 

Club, dimly lighted up by one fish-oil lamp, or at most by two 

of Nehemiah Brown's tallow dips, with tin candlesticks and iron 

snuffers, all plain enough and wasteful enough to match that 

G 



g 3 Sc)?t i- Ceil ten n ia I of 

stove around which it was their pleasure to sit in stout Wind- 
sor chairs of Jacob Snyder's make. Conservatism could go no 
farther than when it reconciled those substantial men with 
such an outfit to that degree thej never did, as a club, give 
way to the innovation of lighting by gas, or making themselves 
comfortable over a coal-burning stove. 

If there ever was any smoking of tobacco in the club, I do 
not remember it. There were several mouldy casks in the 
cellar, containing whatever was left of the old trade in rum ; 
(for that w\as the tipple in those days) but its sale in that house 
had stopped short off at the first intention of the temperance 
movement, and none of the old liquors that remained ever 
made their appearance in the club, so far as I know ; yet the 
firm were not of the style to knock in the heads of their casks 
and spill all their contents on the ground in a moment of en- 
thusiasm. I have no idea that in their wildest dreams of dis- 
sipation, such a thing as a " Symposium " until 6:30 the next 
day, ever entered their heads. 

More conscientious men than they were never lived, at least, 
that was the impression their conversation made upon the 
writer. So long as the national measure of stopping the Sun- 
day mails was an open question, we find them investing and 
losing money with resignation in the "pioneer" lines of public 
conveyances to run at extra speed six days and rest on tlie Sab- 
bath. Their swift-running packet boats, with hulls painted 
red, made all the speed that towpath regulations would allow. 
But when '" Johnson's Eeport " (as it was called, but nnder- 
stood at the time to have been written by Amos Kendall,) dis- 
concerted the urgent measures of Jeremiah Evarts (the father 
of our late cabinet officer), who had that measure in hand and 
took its failure very much to heart, the Whittling Club had 
not a wT)rd to say against the majesty of a law, and I think 
that afterwards the}^ became rather averse to all the Aniis which 
about that time began developing their tendency to become 
more and more the disturbing forces in American politics. 

At one time the Whittlers were considerably exercised over 
the fluctuations of a protracted law suit brought by certain 
AVhitesboro farmers against a mill dam which then spanned 
the Mohawk river near the foot of Genesee street. Its water- 
fall propelled a grist mill which was very convenient to the 
country people and useful to the city. The dam was but 
about seven feet Iiigh. We boj^s thought it great fun, of a 
Saturdav afternoon, to drag an old Indian duo-out canoe, as 
best we could, up the declivity by land, and then to paddle it 
down again over the fall, which was not very abrupt. 

It was claimed by some farmers, who cultivated bottom 
lands as far up the river as Whitesboro, that the Utica mill 
dam of seven feet high flooded lands not formerly subject to 



The City of Utica. gc) 

overflow, although the sum of all the shoals between them 
amounted, say, to twenty feet fall. Plaintiffs' demand was 
that this dam should, be removed. Defendants' counsel ridi- 
culed the complaint as manifestly absurd, and in the first in- 
stance found it easy enough to gain a verdict. But, with the 
appeal to a higher court, came evidence so conclusive that the 
verdict of the court below was I'eversed, and the obstruction 
had to be removed. Two results so different, and the latter so 
contrary, as they thought, to common sense, was sufficiently 
perplexing to the club ; for was it not self-evident that water 
will find its level ? But that lesson was, more than once, very 
useful to the writer afterwards in his engineering career. The 
lesson that water is a very imperfect fluid, and that running 
water will, under certain circumstances, pile up and overflow 
beyond all reasonable bounds, is a good lesson for one to know 
beforehand, whose lot is cast anywhere in the Mississippi 
valley. 

But the innovations which most sorelj' exercised conserva- 
tive members of the Whittling Club, must have been the in- 
evitable railroad and the magnetic telegraph. It is scarcely 
necessary to say, in this connection, that Theodore Faxton and 
John Butterfield were not members at all. They were a 
power, but they were apart to themselves. They did their own 
thinking and kept their own counsel, finding it, doubtless, for 
their interest to do so. The Erie canal was already a grand 
success, and those who had, from the first, predicted its failure 
ought to have been ashamed of themselves ; for were there not 
precedents for the canal ? There were canals in Holland and a 
large one even in conservative China. But where was the ancient 
authority for railroads? And as for the present time, engineer- 
ing skill had not greatly distinguished itself in America. In 
the dense populations of Europe, long lines might succeed, but 
never in this wild country. There was rumor of an ambitious 
southern section of railroad running on stilts through the swamps 
back of Charleston, in the Carolinas; and there were, to their cer- 
tain knowledge, sixteen miles of flat rail and snake heads between 
Schenectady and Albany. But a good Morgan horse could 
get over the same ground in less time, and without such in- 
tolerable dust and sparks. The locomotive on that road was a 
tricky machine, and the passengers had no way of knowing 
what it would do next. It might jump the track at any 
moment, and it might refuse to stop or stand, or go backward 
when it ought to go ahead ; and it was far less sightly to look 
at than a spanking team of stage horses. The motion of its 
engine was vertical and connected with its one crank bj^ a 
working-beam and pitman, speeding up the driving-wheels by 
a spur-weel working into a smaller pinion. And when you 
reached Albany it seemed that you were not yet there, for you 



lOO Scnii-Centciinial of 

must keep your seat, and be let down an inclined plain by 
means of a rope and a hoisting apparatus ; arriving at last, if 
nothing broke, through a series of mechanical devices which 
did not at all commend themselves to nervous gentlemen. 

It was very much in this shape that a first call came for the 
men of Utica to take stock in an extension of the Schenectady 
railroad westward along the route now known as the " New 
York Central" — a mighty thoroughfare at this late day, with its 
four tracks of steel rails, but of doubtful expediency at that 
time, in the opinion of the Whittling Club. They figured uj), 
conscientiously, the daily arrivals and departures of passen- 
gers by the stages and canal boats, and even allowing that some 
well-to-do farmers from the country might leave their Dearborn 
wagons and teams at home, and make their periodical family 
visits to Connecticut and back again in the cars ; they could 
not see where the money was to come from, more than enough 
to defray running expenses, — let alone dividends to the stock 
holders. There were other questions as to the cost of a right 
of way through lands along the Mohawk valley, many times 
more valuable than the sand-plains of Schenectady were at 
that time, and about the probable cost of running over dumb 
brutes; but the question of pr(.)fit and loss was, of course, par- 
amount in their calculations. 

The writer remembers this railroad discussion more dis- 
tinctly because that was the first time he ever ventured " to 
speak in meeting." 

If 3'ou please, gentlemen," said I — and, right here, if the 
boy had not been '' father to the man" — if he had not been 
fully possessed with the "courage of his convictions," the 
instant silence of the club, and the look of amazement with 
which, one and all, its members present turned their faces in 
the direction of a small voice which proceeded from behind a 
pile of merchandise, would have disconcerted the speaker, and 
so his opinion on the railroad question had been lost to the 
world. As it was, he made his deliverance, pitching his voice 
half an octave higher and in words to the following effect : 

" It appears to me. Uncle John, that the gentlemen don't 
look far enough ahead. The canal is doing first rate now. The 
emigrants are beginning to just swarm, going west, and they 
don't talk any more like stopping at the Western Eeserve in 
Ohio — they are bound to go farther, Indians or no Indians. 

" What goes up must come down, 
On the head or on the ground." 

Those new settlers will soon be shipping produce this way, 
and wanting supplies back again. Help build this railroad 
and the increase of trade and travel will surprise you. The 
new 'Cumberland Turnpike' will be just nowhere, and New 



TJic City of Utica. loi 

York city will have twenty }"ears the start of Baltimore and 
Philadelphia. If I was you, I'd take stock in the railroad." 

By this time the boy's short range of consecutive thought 
was exhausted, and his mind as well. He paused for a reply 
but there w^as none. The members of the club onlj' exchanged 
glances and resumed their whittling in a very thoughtful way, 
and soon after began dispersing to their several places of abode, 
as the jury is said to do when the judge has got done with 
them. The essential fact is, that road was built and many con- 
servative gentlemen took stock in it, never afterwards having 
to regret that they had done so, unless some may have sold 
out their stock too soon. 

The writer would not like to be understood — not in the 
least — as encouraging the average small boy to be forward in 
the expression of his opinions, but would just intimate that 
some little credence is due to that fable in which the mouse is 
said to have gnawed through the net that imprisoned a lion. 

We do not know that the Whitling Club ever pooh ! poohed ! 
the Magnetic Telegraph. Probablv they did not, for b}^ that 
time public improvements were becoming lively. The first tel- 
egraph dispatch that ever reached Utica came by the hand of 
Horatio Seymour. The writer, stdl a youth, happened to be con- 
versing with his Uncle John Camp, standing on the side- walk 
in front of his store, when Mr. Seymour, then a young man 
and as yet in no public position, except as already an influ- 
ential orator of his party, came walking up the street in his 
quiet gentlemanly way, and stopped a few minutes to exchange 
salutations with Mr. Camp, and to show him a slip of paper 
which he carried in his hand. It was a riband of thick white 
paper, indented with marks and dots in a manner that required 
explanation. He said he had just returned from Washington 
city, and the paper in his hand was the fragment of a message 
received in his presence by Morse's Telegraph, just then for the 
first time in working order between Baltimore and the seat of 
government. 

Of course, after that, it was scarcely possible for even the 
Whittling Club to question the practicability of telegraphing ; 
but its general utility was, wuth them, for a long time, still an 
open question, and we doubt if any one of them ever got over 
that depressing emotion which accompanies the receiving and 
paying for a dispatch — contents unknown — which may be " the 
bearer of unwelcome news.'" 

The Whittling Club came to its end as it began, without any 
violent dispersion of its members. Public events became too 
fast for them. The saddest event which happens unto all, now 
and then left a vacant chair. Several of their number, when 
well advanced in life, surrendering to the inevitable, became 
exemplar}^ married men, who probably found it better for them 



I02 Scnii-Ccntcnnhxl of 

to spend their evenings at home. Uncle Harry Camp was the 
last surviving member, and still a bachelor when the writer 
jmid him a visit near the close of his life in his lone office on 
Liberty street. He was still as careful about fire and lights as 
of old. and far more precautionary against burglars, for he had 
more reason to expect them. Judging from his conversation, 
you would conclude that the club in which his habits of 
thought were modified must have been in the main composed 
of good-natured men, for he never spoke ill of any one. 

Utica owes a debt of honor to those its " pioneers."' Its 
piresent substantial prosperity is due mainly to the sound prin- 
ciples of those who were better qualified to enjoy its early vil- 
lage life than the more enterprising spirit of a full-grown city. 
Their aversion to debt, and their distrust of innovations did 
not deter them from accepting ripe improvements, after others 
had been at all the risk and exj^ense of demonstrating their 
utility. Their large gains in woi'ldly estate were rarely, if 
ever, the chance profits of spieculation. And what is more and 
better, they trained up the generation to come after them, with 
education suited to their several walks in life, taking good care 
to jM'ovide each with a visible means of livelihood. For they 
had the sagacity to foresee that wdiich of late years has become 
manifest to qv&x^^ right thinking man ; and they never would 
have sanctioned the popular fallacy that education jper se is 
the saving clause in our social and political constitution. They 
knew full well that to educate a mass of any people above 
their lot in life, and then provide them with no corresponding 
career, is but to fill with hopeless aspirations a formidable, dis- 
contented class, dangerous to society and to the state. 

Henry Merrell. 



FROM HON. C. L. MERRIAM. 

Locust Grove, Lewis Co., N. Y., March 1, 1682. 

We, in this Black River country, owe so much to 
the kindly, healthful inflaence of Utica's sons and daughters 
that my recollection of such men as Joshua A. Spencer, and the 
majority of his generation, now gone, is only grateful. During 
my five years' residence there as a boy, I learned what our 
fathers always told us, " That to know the people of Utica, 
was to respect and love them." . . . 

Truly yours, C. L. Merriam. 



The City of Utica. lo^ 



FROM GILBERT MOLLISON. 

OsAYEGO, Feb. 27, 1882. 
Mr. Robert S. Williams, Chairman^ and others, Utica., N. Y.: 

Gentlemen — I have to-day received your invitation to be 
present at the Semi-Centennial Anniversary of the charter of 
the city of Utica, on Wednesday, March 1, 1882. 

I regret that I shall be unable to attend. It would be very 
pleasant to hear the reminiscences that will be given on that 
occasion, and to hear especially of the men who moved the 
mercantile interests of Utica during 1838 to 1843, the years I 
was a clerk in your city. How familiar to me yet are the 
names of Williams, Dana, Sayre, O'Neil, Dutton, Newell, But- 
ler, Farwell, Livingston, Dov/s and others, with whom my busi- 
ness relations brought me in contact. 

Believing you will have a Semi-Centennial worthy of your 
good and prosperous city, believe me, 

Yours truly, Gilbert Mollison, 

FROM REV. E. D. MORRIS, D. D. 

Lane Theological Seminary, [ 
Cincinnati, Feb. 22, 1882. j 

R. S. Williams, Esq., Chairman, <&g.: 

Allow me, my dear sir, to express to your committee, 
through you, my sincere regret that I cannot be present at an 
anniversary which will present so many attractions to every 
loyal son of Utica. I have been glad to note the organization 
of the Oneida County Historical Society, and feel myself 
honored by even a nominal connection with it. The association 
will certainly render very valuable service to the future by 
gathering up the viemoranda of a vanishing past, and by com- 
memorating such significant historic events as the one you are 
celebrating. And as for the good city of Utica, sitting as queen 
in the center of the good county of Oneida, all her sons near 
and far will unite in sending her, on this anniversary of her 
coronation, their loving and hearty, All hail ! 

Yours truly, E. D. Morris. 



FROM HON. DAVID MOULTON. 

Floy^d, N. Y, Feb. 28, 1882. 
R. S. WiLLAMs and others, of Committee: 

Gentlemen — I am in receipt of your honored invitation for 
the Semi-Centennial Anniversary for March 1st, 1882. It fills 



lO-f Scmi-CcntciuLial of 

me with profound gratitude ; and in my declining years recalls 
a flood of pleasant associations of early days. For eighty 
years I have resided upon the confines of Utica. I have wit- 
nessed its infancy ; I have seen it grow from a wayside village 
to a flourishing cit}- ; I have rejoiced in its prosperit}' ; I have 
had intimate relations with nearly all its men of prominence, 
who have added their tributes to its renown ; they were intel- 
lectual giants, possessing the best elements of true manhood ; 
they have passed away like green leaves in autumn, bearing 
good fruit in the harvest. I heartily join you in commemora- 
tion of their virtues, and their works. They have passed, but 
the city they founded still lives and still flourishes. 

You that are young and in prime, have taken up the thread 
of its life and its prosperit}^, and are carrying it faithfully for- 
ward into the future. In turn you will be, as I have been, 
Ijractically relieved by the crowding march, of youth upon the 
heels of age. Thus youth renews itself and its works. 

My infirmities will not admit of my personal presence 
among you. I regret it, for it makes me wish I was young, 
but my heart is with you in all its youthful spirit. I cannot 
refrain an expression of gratitude for the kindness of your in- 
vitation, and the honor and distinction you would confer. 
Again tendering my earnest thanks, with blessings for you all, 
I am with high esteem and regard 

Yours truly, David Moulton. 

FROM RT. REV. H. A. NEELY, D.D. 

Portland, Feb. 27, 18S2. 

My Dear Sir — I greatly regret that my many home engage- 
ments at this season will prevent me from accepting the cordial 
invitation of the Oneida Historical Society, for March 1. It is 
now just thirty years since I took up my residence in Utica, 
and 1 may, therefore, reckon myself among her older citizens, 
for as I liave not renounced my citizenship there, so I am not 
aware that I have been declared to have forfeited it. True, I 
have not paid any taxes in Utica for several 3'ears, but that is 
only because no bill has been sent to me, and my own gratify- 
ing inference from the latter fact is that I have the freedom of 
the city. 

In tJtica I began my life work, and gained some of my 
most valued experiences. There, too, I found some whom I 
still hold as among my dearest friends, and I rejoice to see the 
names of not a few of them on your committee of invitation. 
Alas, there are many more upon your mortuarj^ records ; yet 
not there alone, but cherished in my heart, and in many hearts. 
And what a galaxy of illustrious names it is which appears as 
you unfold the roll of the half-century, of men who have 



The City of Utica. 105 

adorned and ennobled every profession, and every best walk in 
life. Truly one may well wish to claim Utica for bis city, 
though his own name be not Cato, and I esteem it a high 
honor only to have been recognized and encouraged by such 
men in the days of my youth. 

With my hearty greetings, and trusting that the commem- 
oration mayafTord much pleasure to all wlio are able to engage 
in it, I am, 

Very sincerely yours, Henry A. Neely. 

Egbert S. Willia>[s. Chairman, etc. 



FROM PROF. EDWARD NORTH. 

Clinton, Oneida Co., N. Y., Feb. 20, 1882. 
Dr. M. M. Bagg: 

My Dear Sir — I thank yon for the invitation, and hope to be 
present at the Half-Century S\aiiposium on the 1st of March. 
Yours very truly, Edward North. 



FROM AMOS O. OSBORN, ESQ. 

Waterville, Feb. 28, 1882. 
Robert S. Williams, Esq., Chairman, dec. : 

My Dear Sir — Having been invited by the Oneida Historical 
Society, through 3^ou, to be present at tiie Semi- Centennial 
Anniversary of the charter of the city of Utica, I should be 
very happy, were I able, to be present at the symposium. Just 
what this word means, as used in your mvitation, I do not cer- 
tainly know, but that it is something good I have no doubt. 

While a citizen of Utica, as a student in the office of Joshua 
A. Spencer, Esq., I made acquaintances whose friendly inter- 
course has given me great pleasure through my subsequent 
life, and as a native and citizen of. the county whose interests 
have always been nearly identified with that of the city — its 
hub and exponent — I have cherished and shared in the pride 
of its people, for its position as a representative of most of the 
valuable interests of human societ}^ 

As a city and county, possessing these in a marked degree, 
it is not surpassed by any other. It is everywhere known for 
its representative men —in science (notably in geology and 
botany,) in statesmanship, in educational institutions, in mission 
enterprises, in politics, in manufactures and in fine stock 
raising. 

It is also equally well known for its great physical features 
in geology, which have given it an equally wide reputation. 



io6 Scuii-Ccntcnnial of 

The Trenton limestone, the Clinton group, the Oneida con- 
glomerate, the Oriskany sandstone are all named from locali- 
ties within its borderers. And last, but not least, Utica slates, 
have they not always furnished the important elements and 
factors in the machinery of county, state and national politics ? 

In commemoration of the jubilee celebrated this day, it has 
been proposed, and may very likely be carried into effect, that 
a memorial hall be erected in the city, for the use of this His- 
torical Society, and two or three other associations. 

I propose, in view of the facts above stated, and the great 
fitness of the enterprise, that there be added at least another 
room to be used for the work of another county society, and to 
be a Natural History Society, whose work shall chiefly be, to 
hunt out and preserve and study the curious things so provi- 
dentially furnished for our ready finding, within our county 
borders. It is singular, in view of so eminently proper an 
organization, that such an one has never been formed. 

The time is now suited to vigorous action, and it can be 
done. The interest in science it would be likely to command, 
the uses it would subserve in education and general knowledge, 
and the more complete and rounded character it would secure to 
the city of Utica and vicinity would more than ' pay for the 
money expended. 

Truly and respectfully yours, A. O. Osborn. 

FROM E. D. PALMER. 

Albany, Feb. 27, 1882. 
To Robert S. Williams, Chairman, Utica: 

Dear Sir — Your esteemed favor of the 20th inst., inviting me 
to participate in the ceremonies of the proposed Semi-Centen- 
niai Anniversary of the incorporation of Utica as a city, is 
received. 

I shall be unable to accept the invitation ; and in expressing 
my regret therefor, there seems very little that I can say instead. 
It is gratifying to me to believe that the fact of my having 
been a resident of Utica is not wholly unknown in that beau- 
tiful city. 

I presume the number of those who were in Utica 50 years 
ago is not large ; and therefore I think a word in the way of 
biography of any of those who were, will not be unwelcome 
at the meeting of your society. 

In the town of Pompey, and soon after the beginning of the 
present century, Erastus Dow Palmer was born. The home of 
his early years was the then secluded little vale of Limestone 
Creek, and only a few miles from the honored birth-place of 
the good Horatio ScN^nour. In May, of tlie year 1826, the boy 



The City of Utica. loy 

ErastLis, then just nine years of age, with his parents sailed from 
the peaceful glades of Onondaga toward the village of Utica. 
The ship which bore these wanderers, was the fast-sailing canal 
boat. "DeWitt Clinton." The voyage was fraught with in- 
terest and peril, to be sure, but in due time the spire of the 
village church appeared in view, and not long thereafter, a safe 
landing was efi'ected. 

Becoming a resident of the village, Erastus remained as such, 
and was actually present at the birth of the city of Utica. In 
the course of time and events, Erastus became a man, and 
nltimately rose to the crowning distinction of having executed a 
colossal statue of a sheep, which still (I believe) adorns the 
pediment of one of Utica's great edifices. 

During all the half century just ending, Utica has been one 
of the homes of the writer of this biography, and indeed, it 
seems almost his native place ; and more than this, it is 
endeared to him by its having been more than TO years the 
home of one of his earliest and best friends. 

With my sincere wish that the Semi-Centennial will 
prove an event of interest and pleasure to those who can 
participate in it, 

I am very truly yours, E. D. Palmer. 

FROM HON F. B. PENNIMAN. 

HoNESDALE, Pa., Feb. 21, 1882. 
Robert S. Wiillams, Esq., Chairman : 

Dear Sir — I have received the invitation of the Oneida His- 
torical Society to be present at the commemoration of the Semi- 
Centennial Anniversary of the city of Utica. I greatly desire 
to participate in the exercises of the occasion, but imperative 
reasons forbid me that gratification. 

In Utica I was born and bred, and came to man's estate and 
loved and married, and there the bones of mv dead are buried. 
Forty-eight years have come and gone since I made my home 
elsewhere. But in hours of retrospection memory pictures 
anew the peaceful valley, the gentle acclivities, the graceful 
contour of the hills, the luxuriant verdure of summer, the vast 
and whirling snows of winter, the familiar streets and haunts, 
the schools, the solemn churches crowded with worshipers, the 
thronged assemblies of the people, the courts of law at which 
I looked with young and curious eyes, and many other on-goings 
of the olden time. The men of those early years, who laid 
the foundations of your city, are in their graves, but the face 
of nature remains essentially the same about you, and has 
charms for me superior and more enduring than those of any 
other spot of earth. 

Yours very truly, F. B. Penniman. 



io8 Semi-Cent ciinia I of 

FROM JAMES A. PLATT. 

Mineral Point, Wis., 26tb February, 1882. 

Messrs, Robert S. Williams, a^id others^ Committee of 
Oneida Historical Society : 

Gentlemen — My residing at this time upon my farm, a few 
miles out from the town where I have been in the habit of 
taking my mail, coupled with the inclemency of the weather 
at this season, accounts for it that it was onl}^ yesterday that I 
received your letter inviting me to participate with you in a 
memorial feast on the 1st of March prox., commemorative of the 
Semi-Centennial Anniversary of Utica, my native city's cor- 
porate life. The proposal, I assure you, meets with ready and 
favorable response in my feelings, and, did circumstances per- 
mit, corresponding action should certainly follow. But it seems 
unavoidable now that I forego the gratitication which meeting 
with you on this occasion would confer. 

I need but to look at the names appended to your note to 
be made sure that there survive among you those who would 
have many interesting remembrances of early days in common 
with me. Your chairman, I query to niyself — is he a son, or 
grandson possibly, of William Williams, the stationer and 
bookseller of those early times, wliose store was on Genesee 
street, at the head of Broad? Mr. Bacon (I am not ignorant 
of his present distinction as judge, but in this connection I pre- 
fer to think of him as untitled) was a young lawyer whom I re- 
member as some years my senior, taking part occasionally in 
public debates before the village lyceum. I have distinctly 
before my mind all the members of his father's family. They 
were our next neighbors for several years on Broad street. I 
remember his estimable wife, Eliza Kirkland that was. Alexan- 
der Seward ; was he not my class-mate and room-mate for a 
season at Clinton ? So long has been the interval since we last 
met, and such the changes, often-times, which years bring over 
our countenances, it might be that unwarned of one another's ap- 
proach, we would pass by each other on Utica's streets without 
recognizing; )^et how surely, upon a second look, manifold 
pleasant memories of boyhood days would be quickened with- 
in us ; and how we should laugh at the thought of the Old 
Man With The Scythe having power to lay low those heart- 
amaranths. Mears Bagg ; (I omit the M. D. and give him the 
cognomen of his early youth,) were we at Mr. Bartlett's High 
school together? I forget. We " played horse'' together on 
Broad street often, I venture to say, before that. I wonder if, 
seeing that the era of stage coaches is so long past, and that 
the rising generation of boys must be ignorant of the lively 
sensation of wonder, amounting to admiration, which the rapid 



The City of Utica. log 

whirl of the arriving "stage," heralded by the far sounding 
horn, produced in those days in the minds of us gamins of old 
Utica, the imitative turn shows itself in young boys now-a- 
days "playing horse" as universally as formerl}'. I take it, not. 
This piece of philosophical history aside ! It would be a pleas- 
ure to compare notes with Bagg about the revolution which 
time has wrought in therapeutics (particularly as to the liberal 
use of violently operative drugs) since we were students to- 
gether in the office of Dr. Charles Coventry. I should have to 
congratulate him, too, upon his appearance since before the 
world as a student of antiquarian lore. Hutchinson, McQuade, 
Bailey, Comstock, Sayre, Jones, all are names which my mind 
easily associates with old Utica. 

New Utica, I take it, began with the completion of the New 
York Central railroad, and the present may be called the railroad 
era of its history. It has not been in accordance with my wish, 
but decidedly under constraint of circumstances connected with 
business interests, that I have been so completely a stranger to 
my native town during this period. From being a country vil- 
lage, as my earliest recollection pictures it, without even such 
modern necessities as sidewalks and street crossings, it has come 
to be a populous city. Yet the project 3^ou announce to me of 
an anniversary celebration shows that its citizens of to-day still 
have pleasure in calling to mind " the block from which they 
were hewn." I have satisfaction in saying I know of no sur- 
viving representative of old Utica who feels not a measure of 
responsibility resting on him to bear himself as one who, in the 
eyes of others, inherits a certain dignity. 

Fraternally yours, James A. Platt. 



FROM JOHN H. PRENTISS. 

Chicago, Feb. 25, 1882. 
K. S. WiLLiAiis, Esq., Ckairrnan: 

Dear Sir — Please accept my thanks for the invitation from 
the " Oneida Historical Society " for March 1st, and regrets 
that I cannot be present. 

Eespectfully yours, John H. Prentiss. 

FROM L. H. REDFIELD. 

BY HIS DAUGHTER. 

Syracuse, Feb. 27, 1882. 
E. S. "Williams, Chairman .• 

Dear Sir — My father, Mr. L. H. Redfield, has received your 
communication of the 17th inst., inviting him to attend the 



1 10 Scnii-Ccntcnnial of 

Symposium of the Oneida Historical Societ}", to be held on 
Wednesday, Mai-ch 1, 1882. 

He reo;rets extremely that his feeble condition will prevent 
his accepting your polite invitation. He would be glad to 
write you person all)', but is not equal to the effort. 

He has been confined to the house for thirteen weeks. He 
suffers little, his disease (if disease it can be called) being a gen- 
eral giving out of the power of nature. He has entered his 
ninetieth year, and while we indulge the hope that he may con- 
tinue with us months, possibly years, we cannot expect a re- 
turn of his old-time vigor. 

His interest in all historical societies and their work is un- 
abated, and were he able, he would gladly contribute something 
from his memory that might interest in itself, or serve to elicit 
valuable matter from others. 

Very respectfully (on m}^ father's behalf), 

Mary E. Bagg. 



FROM HON. LORENZO ROUSE. 

Paris, Feb. 25. 1882. 
R. S. Williams, Esq., Chairman^ and others^ Committee: 

Gentlemen — I have recently received your kind note of the 
17th instant, inviting me to be present at the Semi-Centennial 
Anniversary of the charter of the city of Utiea, to be held on the 
1st of March next. 

Be assured, gentlemen, I should be highly pleased to be able 
to attend your celebration were it possible for me to do so, but 
I regret to say, that having been confined to the house for sev- 
eral weeks by a serious illness, I see no present prospect of my 
being able to attend, at the time named, which, probably, no 
one will have occasion to regret so much as myself. 

Having been a resident of the county of Oneida foi- two-thirds 
of a century, I, of course, long since came to feel myself fully 
identified with it, and, consequently, with everything affecting 
its prosperity, including all relating more especially to the city 
of Utica — the nearest objectiye point of importance, to what 
has for so many years, been my principal location — in fact my 
real home. 

Permit me to say, just here, that when I first visited Utica, 
in the days of my boyhood, I found it to be, in my imagination, 
merely a thriving inland village, not much larger than the 
village of New Hartford now is, but still, a place of much 
more business. Produce had been mainly exchanged previous- 
ly in barter: but Bryan Johnson had commenced paying cash 
for produce, and the eagerness to obtain this much coyeted 
medium of exchange, drew most of this produce, and especially 



The City of Utica. iii 

wheat, to Utica for a market, which tended, almost immediately, 
to a Wonderful increase of trade at Utica. But the village of 
Utica had, for its chief competitors for prominence, the villages 
of Whitesboro and Rome, at that time the two half-shire localities 
of the county, which was much larger, originally, than at pres- 
ent, a considerable portion of it having been detached in 1816, 
at the time of the organization of Oswego county. The towns 
then detached," and embraced in the new county, were Bengal, 
Constantia, Mexico, New Haven, Richland, Redfield, Scriba, 
Volney and Williamstown, most of which towns, being large in 
extent of territory, have since been subdivided, and ten other 
towns formed from them, making now 19 towns in all, formerly 
included in this county. Pardon this digression. My purpose 
was, rnainly, to speak more especially, of Utica; but I was led 
to explain how it came about that, at so early a day, the county 
of Oneida should have two county seats, and neither of them 
located at Utica. Now the fact seems to have been, that Utica, 
at that time, was part and parcel of the town of Whitestown, 
and remained so till 1817, while Whitestown, as such, having 
been settled nearly 30 years prior to the time when the first 
settlement was made at Utica, and being included in Herkimer 
county, it seemed an eligible site for the location of a Court 
House, and jail. After the organization of Oneida county, in 
1798, embracing, as it did, an almost indefinite amount of ter- 
ritory to the north and west, it seemed to render the selection 
of another 23lace as a halfshire town, very desirable, to say the 
least. Rome, having become comparatively an old town, situ- 
ated as it was at the site of the old Fort Stanwix, and at the 
head of the "carrying place" between the Mohawk river and 
Wood Creek, had, for many years been considered an impoi-- 
tant point, and was consequently selected as the other half-shire 
town of Oneida county. 

As Utica increased in size and population, a rivalry soon 
sprang up between her and Whitestown with reference to the 
possession of the county buildings, and the place for the trans- 
action of the county business. After this contest was decided 
in favor of Utica, and the county business formerly transacted 
at Whitesboro was transferred to Utica, then Rome seemed to 
assume that rivalry, which is still continued in some degree. 
If that rivahy shall be continued and be characterized by a 
rational and considerate spirit, as it is hoped that it may be, 
perhaps it may not result in injury to either place; for a lauda- 
ble rivalry, properly conducted, may perchance be made to inure 
to the benefit of both. As I have ah'eady stated, when I visited 
Utica, in 1816, it was a quiet, though rather a thriving inland 
village with a population of about 2,000 inhabitants all told. I 
am aware that higher estimates of the population were made at 
the time, but such estimates were doubtless exaggerated, as they 



112 Semi-Centennial of 

are quite liable to be in most such cases. The villagers were 
mainly clustered near the river and on Main street, and the 
places of business were about Bagg's square and below ; also 
on the lower portion of Whitesboro, street and on Genesee street 
as far up as the Ontario Branch Bank building, where W. S. 
Taylor's jewelry store now is. A half hour's walk was suffi- 
cient to enable an active person to visit every part of the village. 
The chief points of interest, in a business point of view, were, 
then, the Bank of Utica, on Whitesboro street, the Ontario 
Branch Bank, on Genesee street, the County Clerk's Office on 
Whitesboro street, the office of the Clerk of the Supreme Court, 
far up Genesee street, where the County Clerk's office now 
is (then termed " on the New Hartford road ") and William 
Clarke's lottery and exchange office, and auction rooms, 
(where lottery tickets were sold for the benefit of Hamilton 
College) not omitting to mention the post-office, for Utica had 
a post-oftice at that early day. 

The Gazetteer of that time, spoke of Utica merely as " a 
thriving village of Whitestown, on the river, four miles below 
Whitesboro, with which place it seems likely, at some day to 
become a dangerous rival. It has a post office, and the County 
Clerk's office, together with three taverns, three churches, be- 
sides several stores." Whether Utica finally succeeded in her 
rivalry with Whitesboro, I leave it to others to determine. Up 
to this time Utica had never been favored with either of those 
essential adjuncts to civilization, to wit, a court house or jail. 
Prisoners were detained in the jails, either of Whitesboro or 
Eome, and when, in the summer of 1817, (I think it was,) John 
Tuhi, the Brothertown Indian, who had been been convicted 
of murder and confined in the jail at Whitesboro, w^^s brought 
from that place to Utica for execution, great indignation was ex- 
pressed by citizens of the former place,who feh it to be a direct in- 
fringment upon their rights, and censured the sherift', Apollos 
Cooper, therefor, on the ground of improper favoritism to Utica, 
of which place he was a resident. The execution was consumma- 
ted on the eastern slope of Cornhill, at that time the open 
country, but long since entirely built over as a part of the city. 
True, that event did add to the notoriety of Utica, as people 
came 'with their teams from all parts of the adjacent countrj^, 
within a circle of twenty-five or thirty miles from Utica, to 
witness the execution, the number thus attracted being estimated 
anywhere from 20,000 to 30,000. At the time which we are 
thus reviewing, railroads, as a means for travel, were not even 
dreamed of, and the idea of connecting the great lakes of the 
west, with the Atlantic, by means of a canal passing through 
the center of the state, was deemed, by the majority of the 
people, to be a visionary project, as yet but dimly seen by its 
projectors, through the misty vail of an uncertain and indefinite 



The City of Utica. ii^ 

future. Very few, at that time, thought of building, for business 
purposes, so far up town as where the canal now crosses Genesee 
street ; and I very well recollect that when John H. Handy, (for 
whom the late James Sayre was then a clerk) commenced to 
build a brick store, on the east side of the street, near the pres- 
ent canal bridge, and Levi Cozens was putting up a wooden 
tavern, nearly opposite, with a view of catching the farmers 
as they came in from the country, they were both deemed very 
unwise, to build so far out of town, and they were both jeeringly 
asked, why they did not build up at New Hartford, while they 
were about it. 

But subsequent results have shown that these men " builded 
more wisely" than others then knew or conjectured. With 
these few reminiscences, hastily gathered from memory's store- 
house, allow me to close, with the expression of the great satis- 
faction I have experienced, in looking over the list of names of 
the gentlemen composing your committee, to find so many 
honored names of worthy sires, whom I recollect bearing an 
active part in the business affairs of the village of Utica and of 
the county of Oneida, prior to and at the time when the there- 
tofore humble village of Utica became legally entitled to take 
her stand by the side of her sister cities of the Empire State. 

Thanking you, gentlemen, for the courtesy of your invitation 
to me to participate in the Semi-Centennial celebration of that 
event, I remain, with great respect, very truly yours, 

LoKENzo Rouse. 

FROM GERRY SANGER. 

BY HIS DAUGHTER. 

New Haven, Feb. 26th, 1S82. 
Robert S. Williams, Esq. 

Dear Sir — My father (Gerry Sanger) regrets his inability to 
be with you on Wednesday night, having been seriously ill the 
past four weeks, and just recovering from a fit of apoplexy, 
which has left him very weak, and his eyesight so poor that 
it would be hazardous to let him go anywhere, unattended. 
He is now in his 84th year, and until the past two months has 
enjoyed perfect health, and seemed as young and buoyant in 
spirits as ever. Father truly appreciates your kind remem- 
brancC'Of him, and were he able, would like to meet all his 
old friends once more. He often speaks of his childhood 
home and its old associations, the many loved and well-remem- 
bered friends, now gone forever, and that soon he will be num- 
bered amongst them. He is " only waiting," are his words to 
me, when I try to cheer him up after a day of unrest. 

Father thinks Utica has changed so much, he would be 
lost; so many old landmarks are removed, and fine buildings 

H 



114 Semi-Centennial of 

in their stead, that it would rather sadden than give him 
pleasure to visit it. 

Father has lived to vote the straight ticket 60 years ; and 
though some spurious tickets were sent him, he laughed, and 
said he was not so blind — he could see right from tvrong ; — he 
wanted to vote for " Garfield," our mart3a-ed President and was 
gratified at the result, but sadly grieved at his death. 

Father wishes to be kindly remembered to all his friends. 
Eespectfully yours, Mrs. Joel Peck. 



FROM HENRY SANGER. 

New York, March 23, 1882. 
R. S. Williams, Esq. : 

Dear Sir — I am exceedingl}- obliged to you for the paper 
sent me containing an account of the proceedings of Utica's 
Semi- Centennial celebi-ation. I have read them with great 
pleasure. The speeches and letters called up names and scenes 
familiar in my boyish days. Congratulating you upon so suc- 
cessful a result, I am 

Very trul)^ yours, Henry Sanger. 

FROM WILLIAM PITT SHEARMAN. 

New York City, Feb. 28, 1882. 
Robert S. Williams, Esq., Chairman, c&c, Utica : 

My Dear Sir — I have the honor to acknowedge the receipt 
of the kind invitation of your committee to be present on the 
occasion of the commemoration, by the Oneida Historical 
Society, of the Semi-Centennial Anniversary of the charter of 
the city of Utica. 

I thank the committee for their courtesy and regret that my 
engagements are such as to prevent my being present on that 
interesting occasion. 

The earlier portion of my life was passed in the city of Utica, 
of which very pleasant memories remain. May the city of 
Utica continue to be, as she has always been, a prominent cen- 
ter of wealth and intelligence, and the nursery of able, virtuous 
and illustrious citizens, jurists and statesmen ! 

Kindly present my compliments to the individual members 
of your committee, and believe me, dear sir. 

Very truly yours, Wm. Pitt Sheakman. 



The City of Utica. 1 1 ^ 

FROM ROBERT B. SHEPARD. 

Hudson, N. Y., Feb. 27, 1882. 

My Dear Sir — Wliile thanking your committee of the 
"Oneida Historical Society" for an invitation to attend the 
" Serai Centennial Anniversarj' of the charter of the city of 
Utica," (which circumstances compel me to forego,) I cannot 
refrain exprevssing the pleasure it would give me to be present 
and join in the exercises proposed upon that interesting occa- 
sion, and at the same time the interest and pride I have ever 
felt in the growth and material prosperity of your beautiful 
city ; a place endeared to me by many pleasant associations 
and sacred memories, which time and distance have failed to 
obliterate ; and still more have 1 been proud of the intellectual 
culture and wide- spread moral influence of its sons and 
daughters. May its future remain as true to the exalted 
character and principles "of its founders as has been its past 
history. 

I address this to you. personally, at this late hour, not for 
publicity, but as an expression of my unalterable love and re- 
spect for dear old Utica, and the friends still living and of 
" auld lang syne.'' 

Very truly yours, Robt. B. Shepard. 

EoBT. S. Williams, Esq., TJtica. 

FROM J. R. SIMMS. 

Robert S. Williams, Esq , Chairman : 

Gentlemen : Under different circumstances and at a less in- 
clement season of the year, it would afford me very great 
pleasure to accept your kind invitation and be present at your 
approaching city festival, and enjoy with you that "feast of 
reason and flow of soul," sure soon to transpire. 

Nothing could interest and please me better than to join the 
committee and other friends in celebrating the semi-centennial 
growth of a young city, to a generous and dignified manhood. 
Such has your town become on the site of the true Fort Schuy- 
ler^ erected when the city's present streets only felt the foot- 
fall of Indians and beasts of prey. When Fort Schuyler was 
erected for the better protection of the present Herkimer 
county settlements, covering what was then known as Western 
New York, how little did the projectors of that military post 
imagine that in 75 years a city charter would cover its site ; 
and that at the end of a half century more, a brilliant festival 
would tell to the world that Utica had reached a noble man 
hood in both soul and body ; for its mental has kept a steady 
pace with its physical growth. And as an evidence, look at 
the men of full stature she has sent into almost every civil 



ii6 Scnii-Ccntcnnial of 

office and dignified position in life, embracing teachers, profess- 
ors, etc. Its distinguished judicial ermine has never trailed, 
while our legislative halls have often felt the influence of the 
"central city." More than this, Utica has furnished the 
United States Senate, &t one and the same time, two members 
of marked ability (and what other city of the union, great or 
small, has ever clone this ?) And better than all, she has given 
the state an honest and model governor, who in his retired life, 
as a far-seeing statesman, is the peer, to say the least, of any 
other man in our wide-spread union. 

Thus may we see that Utica, young as she is, when com- 
pared with many cities in our land, has never been wanting in 
material manhood to fill the most important positions in life — 
hence is far from being unknown to fame — saying nothing of 
her thousand and one great men who have remained unknown 
to fame, because circumstances never placed them in the pool 
of preferment. Hence like hidden flowers which bloom un- 
seen, they were left to dry up at their own domestic firesides — 
and more's the pity. 

Gentlemen, thanking you for your very kind invitation to 
the approaching festival, wishing you all a happy time ; and 
invoking for your charming city a still more prosperous Semi- 
centennial, if possible, 50 years hence than the last has been, I 
remain, 

Yours with great respect, J. R. Simms. 



FROM ANDREW A. SMITH. 

Brooklyn, Feb. 24, 1882. 

Robert S. Williams, Esq., Chairman: 

My Dear Sir — I gratefully hold your invitation to the Semi- 
centennial Anniversary of the charter of the city of Utica with 
will and heart to accept it. and participate in the proposed en- 
joyments. If I may not, then my loss will be chargeable alone 
to business engagements. 

That I was a Utica boy from six years old to sixteen, and, 
part of that time, a student at the Academy under Messrs. 
Prentice and Bari)er, and at a later period in the employ of 
Milton Brayton and J. W. & C. R. Doolittle, are facts wliich, 
of however little concern to others, no doubt have had their 
force in the make-up of my manhood, and have wrought 
amons the influences of a later and not- inactive life. Other 
moral springs had issue in those years. 

I think the time has never been wheu the comely city of 
Utica — could there have been the need — would not have 
found me ready to affirm, — "Such as I have give I unto thee." 
Surely, she has ever maintained her own as against all compe- 



The City of Utica. iij 

titers, and hence her " Oneida Historical Society" v;ill have 
treasured only her praise. 

My " two mites" cast into this treasury would be lost in the 
abundance of those who shall, on this occasion, enrich the ar- 
chives of your society, but it would be all the boy had. If, 
therefore, I may come to the feast, it must be as receptive, 
rather than contributive. 

With lively anticipation, most truly yours, 

Andrew A. Smith. 

FROM JOSEPH STRINGHAM, ESQ. 

OsHKOSH, Wis., Feb. 23, 1882. 
Messrs. R. S. Williams, and others : 

Gentlemen — 1 have the pleasure of acknowledging the re- 
ceipt of your note of the 17th inst, inviting me to meet with 
the Oneida Historical Society to commemorate the Semi Centen 
nial Anniversary of the charter of the city of Utica, and regret 
very much that it is impossible for me to comply with the in- 
vitation. I share with you and all the citizens of Utica in the 
pride you feel in your city. My recollections of it are amongst 
the most clierished thoughts of my life. They go back some 
years further than to the city charter — to the village of Utica, 
when the Ei'ie canal was completed and the canal boat carrying 
General LaFayette and Governor Clinton arrived at the Genesee 
streei bridge. A great holiday and a glorious occasion, indeed ! 

A grateful and reverent memory of one who was to me a 
kind father and faithful friend — Montgomery Hunt, Esq. — binds 
me to Utica by the sacred ties of home and gratitude, to which 
is added a vivid recollection of the men who then lived in 
Utica, and whose names are worthily and justly honored in 
Dr. Bagg's "Pioneers of Utica" — a true picture of society in 
Utica at that time. 

Hoping, gentlemen, that you may, in your coming anniver- 
sary, enjoy the presence of many of the distinguished citizens 
and good men who have given character to Utica and Oneida 
county, and thanking you for your recollection of me on this 
occasion, I am, 

Yours, very respectfully, Jos. Stringham. 

FROM HON. JOHN STRYKER. 

Rome, Feb. 23, 1882. 
Robert S. Williams, Chairman of Committee: 

Dear Sir — I have received your invitation to attend the 
Semi-Centennial Anniversary of the charter of the city of 
Utica, on the first day of March, and requesting a response. 



ij8 Semi-Ccntcnnial of 

My health will not permit my personal attendance, as I should 
be glad to do. I well remember the passage of the charter and 
the first organization of the council. Among its members were 
Messrs. Williams, Ostrom, Barnard, Barnum, R. B. Miller and 
Mann, all of whom were very valued personal friends. All of 
them have passed from earth, but their good works follow 
them ; as they with others aided in the foundation of such 
steps and measures as have placed Ctica in the front rank of 
the cities of the state and insured her prosperity. 

Very truly yours, John Stryker. 

FROM SAMUEL THOMSON. 

Oakland, Gala., Feb. 27, 1882. 
Robert S. Williams, Esq., Chairman : 

Appreciated circular. Too late. With you in heart that 
day. Samuel Thomson. 

Oakland, Feb. 25, 1882. 
To R. S. Williams, Esq., Chairman^ etc.: 

Dear Sir — It would have given me great pleasure to have 
responded to your polite circular of the 17th inst, if you had 
mailed it a few days earlier ; as there are but three days prior to 
your celebration, my letter would not reach you. 

My pride would say, don't use this note, but it is the best I 
can do, finding myself in my eighty-seventh year, partially 
blind. With great respect to yourself and associates, 

Yours respectfully, Samuel Thomson. 

FROM STEPHEN S. THORN. 

Newark, N. J. Feb. 27, 1882. 
2o Robert S. Williams, and others: 

Dear Sirs — Your note of the 17th instant inviting me to be 
present at the Semi Centennial Anniversary of the charter of the 
city of Utica finds me so engaged with business that it will be 
impossible to be present at your exercises. It has been more 
than thirty years since I left Utica, the city of my nativity, and 
where I resided until arriving at manhood. Time has not suf- 
ficed to weaken my affection for it, nor the many friendships 
formed there in my early days. 

At the time of my leaving Utica it was but a small city. 
In visiting the city in late years I have been struck with its 
wonderful improvement evidencing substantial prosperity, and 
a glowing testimonial to the enterprise, thrift, and diligence 
of its citizens. Utica may be justly proud of its success in the 



The City of Utica. i ig 

many instances in which it has competed with other localities 
in the onward march of progress. Her industrial pursuits stand 
to-da}^ beside the foremost in the country, and have gained for 
it a fair fame, while the increase of its churches, educational 
institutions and charities, and its growth in beauty and its at- 
tractiveness as a place of residence afford abundant evidence 
of the culture and elevated morality of its citizens. Its distin- 
guished citizens have made for it a proud recognition through- 
out the land. I shall always cherish with pride the remem- 
brance of the city of my birth. 

Regretting that I cannot be present in person, as I shall be 
in spirit, and thanking you for your kind invitation, and with 
the best of wishes for the success of your celebration, and con- 
tinued prosperity ot Utica, I am yours sincerely, 

Stephen S. Thorn. 

FROM WILLIAM B. THORN. 

Detroit, Mich., Feb. 24, 1&S2. 
Mr. Robert S. Williams, Chairman of ike Committee of the 

Oneida Historical Society : 

Dear Sir — Your kind invitation to attend the Semi Centen- 
nial reminds me that I am growing old, for had T been born 
one year sooner, I would have been as old as the city of Utica, 
my native place. All the names signing the invitation are 
familiar to me. The last two signers, Theodore S. Sayre and 
Morven M. Jones, bring to my mind a little incident of nearly 
thirty years ago, which may not be historical, but is one of my 
reminiscences of old Utica. In the year 1832, when Utica was 
visited with the cholera, I was clerking in the hardware store 
of the late James Sayre, one of Utica's oldest and most honored 
citizens. Fearing I might be attacked with the cholera at any 
moment, I procured of a friend (who doctored the stuff) a bottle 
of brandy. One morning, in a boyish freak, I said to George 
Pomeroy and Theodore S. Sayre, you both look very much 
like having the cholera. So we all took a homoeopathic 
drink of this doctored brandy, which made us all sick. On 
my way home, up Fayette street, I was very, very sick, and 
I tried in every way to heave up Jonah (or the brandy.) I 
was opposite where it was reported (and I think it was true) a 
man had died, the night before, with the cholera. I was going 
through all sorts of contortions wlien Morven M. Jones ap- 
proached me and said, '' What's the matter. Thorn?" Sick as 
I was, here was my time for fun again. So I said, " I do not 
know ; must have the cholera," when away Mr. Jones ran like 
a white head ! — which, it seems to me, he must be by this time. 

Trusting you may have a large, pleasant and social gathering, 
Yours sincerely, Wm. B. Thorn. 



120 Scnii-Ccntcmiial of 

FROM MONTGOMERY H. THROOP, ESQ. 

302 State Street, Albany, Feb. 24, 1882. 
My Dear Sir — I have received the letter of the committee, 
of which jou are chairman, inviting me to attend, on Wednes- 
day next, to join with the Oneida Historical Society in com- 
memorating the Semi Centennial Anniversary of the charter of 
the city of Utica. I thank you for remembering me by a title 
I am proud of bearing, that of a former resident of Utica. It 
would giv^e me the greatest pleasure to participate in the inter- 
esting exercises, indicated in the committee's letter ; to grasp 
by the hand the survivors of the many warm and valued 
friends which I made during my residence of nineteen years in 
Utica, and to recall and honor the memory of those who have 
passed away. But imperative engagements here will compel 
me to forego that pleasure. I shall, however, be with you in 
spirit. With kindest regards to the members of the committee, 
in each of whom I recognize an esteemed friend, 

I am very sincerely yours, Montgomery H. Throop. 

To Robert S. Williams, Esq., Chairman^ etc. 

FROM ISAIAH TIFFANY. 

Clifton Springs, Feb. 21, 1882. 
To Robert S. Williams, Esq., Chairman : 

My Dear Sir— The kind invitation extended to me by the 
Oneida Historical Society through you it-^ chairman, to be 
present at itsSemi-Centennial celebration of the anniversary of 
the charter of the city of Utica was duly received. 

Nothing, my dear sir, would be more gratifying to me than 
to be able to meet you and the gentlemen whose names are at- 
tached to the invitation on such an occasion. They are all 
those for whom I feel the greatest esteem and with whom I 
have always held the most kind and friendly relations, one of 
them, the Hon. William J. Bacon, for more than half a 
centur3^ '' May his shadow never be less." 

I remember well the occasion which you meet to celebrate, 
and also the election of the first mayor elected under that 
charter, the pure, high-minded and patriotic Kirkland. For 
nearly half a century Utica [never "pent up") was my chosen 
and happy home ; in fact, my dear sir, it is my home yet, though 
absent in body "my heart is in the Hielands, my heart is not 
here." Nothing but infirmities incident to the life of an octo- 
gennrian prevents me from accepting your kind invitation. 

With many thanks and the kindest remembrances for your- 
self and other gentlemen vvhose names accompany the invita- 
tion, I am. my dear sir. 

Yours sincerely, I. Tiffany. 



The City of Utica. 121 

FROM CHARLES TRACY, ESQ. 

New Yoek, Feb. 28, 1882. 
My Dear Sir — I regret to find that a business engagement 
will deprive me of the pleasure of the meeting of your society 
to-morrow, to which you have so kindly invited me ; and it is 
now too late to give my letter thoughts worthy for the occa- 
sion". With my best wishes for the success and honor of the 
society, 

I remain jours truly, Charles Tracy. 

Mr. Egbert S. Williams, Esq., Chairm,an of Committee 
of Oneida Historical Society : 

FROM GEORGE TRACY. 

Milwaukee, May 25, 1882. 
EoRERT S. Williams, Esq., Chairman: 

Dear Sir — Your invitation to attend the commemoration of 
the Semi- Centennial Anniversary of the charter of the city of 
Utica received, and for this kind remembrance I tender j^ou 
my sincere thanks. 

It would be a great gratification for me to meet the many 
old friends and fellow citizens who will be gathered on that in- 
teresting memorial occasion, could I do so. Please present 
them a cordial greeting for me. 

I well remember when the good people of the village of 
Utica concluded to take on themselves the airs of city life, 
and the lively interest taken in the first election under the new 
charter, and that Mr. John Williams, General J. H. Ostrom, 
Ephraim Hart and our genial old friend Robert McBride, and 
many others of our most prominent citizens of those days, were 
much pleased to be selected as the first aldermen of the new 
city ; and the universal gratification given by the common 
council in electing General Joseph Kirkland as Mayor, as the 
very man for the position, and then the appointment of our old 
fellow citizen, Mr. Thomas Colling, as the first city clerk. 
Why. it for the time seemed to elevate him even above the 
prominent position he held in the old Bank of Utica, which we 
boys of that day thought he must own. 

But I will not enlarge, as there will be many with you at the 
meeting who will tell the story of Utica and its city origin and 
developments orally, in a much more interesting way than I can 
write it. 

I will only say in conclusion, " May Utica and her good 
people be abundantly prospered," is the earnest desire of an 
old Utican. Very truly yours, 

George Tracy. 



122 Semi-Ccntcnnial of 

FROM H. D. TUCKER, ESQ. 

KocHESTER, Feb. 7, 1882, 

Gents— I am reluctantly constrained, by reason of a bodily in- 
jury, which I by accident received recently, to forego the 
pleasure of attending the Semi Centennial Anniversary of the 
charter of your city. 

Utica, as a village, was connected with my earliest recol- 
lections, having been born within two miles of its present 
limits ; and as a city I passed my youth in it. 

My mind involuntarily reverts to many of the great men, 
who, about the beginning of its chartered city existence, filled 
a large space in the public estimation, and still larger in m}^ 
own youthful estimation of great men. There was General 
Joseph Kirkland, one of your city's first mayors, both in point 
of time and also of merit — a courteous, dignified, polished 
gentlemen of the old school; Charles P. Kirkland and William 
J. Bacon, then vigorous in life's meridian, the latter of whom is 
still among you, beloved, respected and honored, whose "eye is 
not dimmed or his natural force abated ;" Samuel Beardsley, 
the distinguished jurist and politician, and famous for his suc- 
cessful tilt with the old United States Bank under General Jack- 
son's administration ; Judge Hiram Denio, the incomparable 
judge; the witty and humorous John G. Floyd, who wrote 
"The last political Will and Testament of David Moulton of 
Floyd," one paragraph of which read, "Item: To my beloved 
friend and Pitcher, Major I. M. H.. I give one empty cow's 
bladder, which he is to receive in remembrance of me, and in 
resemblance of himself ; Matthew Talcott, who boarded at 
Bagg's Hotel so many years, the lawyer whose last utterances 
on his death bed, to his friend, the eccentric but kind-hearted 
Charles C. Broadhead, were : " I regret that my free and lavish 
mode of life has made me, at this time, a burden upon my 
friends, and that I cannot die and be buried like a gentleman ;" 
Joshua A. Spencer, the great advocate and excellent man, and 
the eccentric Alvan Stuart, of mirth provoking notoriety ; Eev. 
Samuel C. Aikin, of the First Presbyteri-^n Church, with 
" meek and unaffected grace," and in whom all the virtues of 
a good life were illustrated. These and many more, both good 
men and good women, who have man)^ years since passed over 
to the other side, whose names are still fresh and green in my 
memory, illustrious alike for their examples of faith and life, 
crowd upon my recollection and of whom your city is justly 
proud. 

Of the gradual, but sure, growth which Utica has made in 
its material wealth within the fifty years of its chartered city 
existence, and its enterprising and public-spirited citizens who 



The City of Utica. I2j 

piloted it onward and upward in its career, it is not for me to 
speak. In short, gentlemen, if Utica, of ancient renown was 
a " pent up Utica," such can never be the fate of our Utica 
enthroned in the centre of the Empire State. 

I am, gentlemen, truly yours, H. D. Tucker. 

Egbert S. Williams, Chairman^ and otliers : 



FROM REV. ANSON J. UPSON, D. D. 

Auburn Theological Seminary, 
Feb. 28Lh, 1882. 

My Dear Mr. Williams — I regret exceedingly that un- 
avoidable engagements prevent my attendance at the com 
memoration on Wednesday evening. 

Though not "native," I may claim to be "to the Manor 
born.'" My grandsire was one of the presidents of the village 
of Utica. As president, he welcomed La Fayette in 1825, and 
in October of the same year represented the village at the 
opening of the Erie canal. As a boy in one of your homes, I 
earned my first shilling, by reading aloud the Governor's mes- 
sage for that year. I made ray first speech in one of your 
schools, and preached my first sermon in one of your churches. 
The first journey I remember was with the venerable presi- 
dent aforesaid, on the second train that ever ran on the railway 
to Syracuse. I remember only two things about the journey. 
One was seeing a man on horseback, standing against the sky, 
in the narrow roadway, ]ust then cut between the trees, through 
the forest, where is now the ])opulous village of Oneida. Some 
years afterwards, Luke Hitchcock, Esq., of Vernon, told me it 
was he who stood there, that day, as the train passed hy. 

You will commemorate the first charter to-morrow. That 
charter was a blessing to one of your boys, especially ; for it 
gave me an opportunity to gratify in my boyhood, my life-long 
passion for listening to public speech. At almost every session 
of the common council, before 1 went to college, I sat on the 
back seats in the old council chamber on Hotel street, listening 
to the words of wisdom that fell from the lips of the fathers of 
the city ! And what a luxury is was during some of those 
years, to sit in the gallery of the old Second Presbyterian 
church on Bleecker street — now Dr. Corey's Baptist church — 
and listen, as I did, to the anti-slavery eloquence of those days 
— the early days of the chartered city ! I may be mistaken, 
but it seems to me now as if no speakers were ever so eloquent 
as Gerrit Smith, and Beriah Green, and Alvan Stewart, and 
William Goodell and Frederick Douglass, and now and then 
Theodore Weld. At any rate they stirred one young heart with 
indignant conviction. 



12^ Semi-Ccntcnnial of 

No city in all the land is more attractive to her sons than 
Utica. There is no more stately avenue in this country than 
Genesee street. And the lengthened strength of John street, 
with Miller Place at the head of it, and Broad street with its 
quiet dignity, and the cheerful beauty of Rutger street, are al- 
most as attractive. Among your absent sons I am not alone 
in thinking of Utica always as my home. Nowhere else have 
I had so many friends. May 1 not "claim kindred here and 
have the claim allowed ?" 

Your envious neighbors sometimes say that Utica is not pro- 
gressive. But in 1832 you had no railway, no telegraph, no daily 
newspapers, no city hall, no Butterfield house, no opera house, 
no asylum, great or small, no hospital, no benevolent homes, 
no large manufactories, no steam woolen or cotton mills, only 
two banks, no seminary for young ladies, no art gallery, no 
beautiful cemetery. You have now all you had then and 
much more. 

" Old Saratoga" can still wake the echoes, though Lyman 
Adams does not direct the firing of that " one gun at daybreak'" 
on the 4th of Jul3^ Bagg's hotel still opens its hospitable 
doors. Some of the old church buildings are gone, but old 
historic Trinity remains. There never will be a spire so high 
as that of the old First Presbyterian Church on Washington 
street. The spire at Strasburg, when I saw it, seemed to me 
much shorter. I shall never see again such majestic columns 
as those that towered above the pulpit in that church, in front 
of that organ from which George Button drew lightning and 
thunder ! 

But you have many more and better churches, and just as 
good clergymen, and physicians and lawyers and judges. No 
city in the world of equal poi^ulation can rival you in tlie num- 
ber and character of high official dignitaries, whom in their re- 
tirement you deservedly honor. 

The tone of your social life has not essentially changed. You 
never had cliques and you never will. You never encouraged 
ostentation, and I believe you never will. Ostentatious pre- 
tension has never felt at home in your city. A refined sim- 
plicit}^, inherited from the founders, has always characterized 
your social life. So may it ever be. 

Please present my thanks to the committee for its cordial 
invitation, and my sincere regret that I cannot enjoy with you, 
what I know will be a delightful reunion. 

Very truly yours, Anson J. UpsON. 



The City of Utica. 12^ 



FROM. HON. S. VAN DRESAR. 

Rome, N. Y., Feb. 27. 

Be pleased to accept my thanks for the invitation from the 
Oneida Historical Society to attend the Semi-Centennial exer- 
cises of Uticas charter. It would afford me much pleasure to 
be present, but other engagements prevent. 

I do not consider mj^self an old man, nor have I ever been a 
resident of Utica, yet I well remember when Utica assumed 
her city garb, and I have a most pleasant recollection of many 
of her citizens, then 3^oung men, but who subsequently became 
conspicuous actors in the politics and affairs of county, state 
and nation. 

Fifty years are considered a long time in the life of an indi- 
vidual, and but a short period in the annals of a city ; and yet 
when those whose memories go back for half a century, recall 
and note what Utica was when she cast off her village robes 
and what Utica is to-day, the thought and feeling are thrust 
upon us, that her age is understated, or that her progress has 
been beyond her years. Trusting that the celebration will be 
one of unalloyed pleasure and gratification, 

I remain yours truly, Stephp:n Van Dresae. 

To Robert S. Williams, Esq., and others of the Committee: 

FROM J. C. VAN RENSSELAER. ESQ. 

11 Livingston Ave., 
New Brunswick, April 22, 1882. 

My Dear Dr. Bagg — We were greatl}^ gratified, this morn- 
ing, my sister and myself, to find, on receiving the circular 
which you had the kindness to send us, that the committee of 
the Oneida Historical Society contemplated publishing, in book 
form, the proceedings of your Semi-Centennial Anniversary, 
together with those of the Half Century Club, at their supper 
on the evening of the following day. 

How can I express to you the extent of my regret that I 
should have been deprived, by my unfortunate illness, of the 
pleasure of being of those who were made happy by the charm 
of those two occasions. I was too ill even to write, and was 
compelled to avail myself of my daughter's services, and to ex- 
press through her my appreciation of the kind courtesy of the 
committee's invitation. I was born in Utica in February, 
1812, and my recollections of the place and people, very dis- 
tinct and clear, run back very far toward that date. As a boy, 
there were few between "Whispering" Ferguson's down the 
river and the western outer limits of the town whom I did 



126 Seini-Ccntcnnial of 

not personally know. Many a time since I left Utica in 
1837, traveling far and wide over our common country, 
have 1 encountered Utica boys, grown to manhood, and 
although, in many cases, not being able to recall them 
at once to my memory, been saluted by them with an ear- 
nestness of recognition which showed the loyalty of the tie 
which bound them to the place of their birth and any one 
whose name or presence could remind them of it. The universal 
answer to my question, " How does it fare with you ?" was, 
"Success." The Utica of the present day is the legitimate out- 
come of the men, the measures and the days of those who 
made the Utica of the early stage. How spontaneous was the 
recognition of this fact, the applause that followed the crowning 
of the honored citizen, who connects so well the men of its 
present with that of its past, well testifies. Let me give you 
here, in a copy of a letter which I have before me, a graceful 
evidence of the high breeding which characterized the society 
of Utica and its neighborhood in the olden time. It is a copy 
of a letter written to my father by Francis Adrien Van der 
Kemp, of Olden Barneveld. near Trenton : 

" Dear Sir — As both your mother's grandmothers descend- 
ed from the Dutch Beeckmans— being daughters of Henry 
Beeckman and Joanna de Lopes, whose father expatriated — and 
Mrs. V. D. K. descended from the other branch, which re- 
mained in Holland, this short extract from her genealogy can- 
not be unacceptable. I shall be happy if the discovery of 
distant- ties of relationship with her can induce you, when you 
visit once more this villnge, not to pass by our cottage un- 
noticed. Hi this manner I shall anew be indebted to Mrs. Y. 
D. Kemp for an increase of happiness, as I appreciate every 
kindness received — on whatever score it is — and it will en- 
courage me to use with more freedom the civilities of Mr. and 
Mrs. Van Rensselaer. I am yours sincerely, 

Fr. Adr. Van der Kemp. 

Olden Barneveld, 24th March, 1S14." 

This letter was accompanied with a genealogical letter of 
descent of my father s mother, and of Mrs. V. der Kemp's an- 
cestry uniting in 1550. 

The spirit of courtesy which inspires that letter was charac- 
teristic of the time and the society of Utica then existing. The 
men of those days were as enterprising and energetic as they 
were graceful and well bred. Their honored names are well 
known among you, and well worthy of all honor in those who 
bear them now. Of the ladies of those days, through whose 
means organization was given to benevolent effort, there were 
— made prominent by their virtues, by their efforts and by the 
selection of their friends — Mrs. John H. Ostrom, Mary Walker, 



The City of Utica. 12^ 

Alida Van Rensselaer, afterwards Mrs. Charles H. Carroll, and 
Sarah Malcolno, now Mrs. Ball. The last — now very, very 
aged — is the sole survivor of the three. I do not know that 
there are yet living at Utica any of the companions and friends 
who remember her life of goodness and bounty in her early 
days with them. If any still live, it maybe a pleasure to them 
to read a late letter of her's to my sister, which I lend to you, 
You will be so kind as to return it to me. 

My sister and myself are the only ones left of my father's 
family. I have lost the sight of one of my eyes, and I lead a 
■quiet life, most of the time in my library. Once a year I visit 
the town my father founded — Rensselaer, Jasper county, In ■ 
diana, now but two hours and a half from Chicago, by the 
Louisville, Northwestern and Chicago Railroad. There he 
died and was buried in the spring of 1847. His memory is 
there honored as the founder of the town, which is thriving 
and prosperous. I occupy myself now in writing the history 
of its early settlement and that of the surrounding country. 
More than two hundred and fifty years ago the country and 
the Indians who inhabited it were under the power and sub- 
jection of the wonderful organization of the " Six Nations," 
whose power was nearly central where Utica now stands. It 
was not long after before the soil was trod by some of the 
heroic band of Jesuit Fathers, the history of whose courage 
and devotions in face of tortures and death among the same 
six tribes, will never be forgotten. 

What a wonderful history is yet to be written of the 
Mohawk. Perhaps some day Utica will bear another name, 
more in harmony with its antecedent history. 

With great regard, yours trulv, 

J. C. Van Rensselaer. 



FROM C. VAN SANTVOORD. 

5.5 Broadway, New York, Feb. 25, 1SS2. 
Robert S. Williams, Esq., Chairman and Gentlemen of the 

Committee of the Oneida Historical Society : 

Dear Sirs — T thank yon for your courtesy in inviting me 
'' as a former resident" to be present at the commemoration of 
the Semi-Centennial Anniversary of the charter of the city of 
Utica. 

Abraham Van Santvoord, my father, was a resident of 
Utica, when it was, as described in the Gazetteer of New 
York of 1813, (Spafford's) ''a flourishing, incorporated post vil- 
lage, the commercial capital of the great western district of 
this state, where are many mills, factories, machine shops and 
a vast many buildings other than those enumerated. Several 



128 Semi-Cc7ite7inial of 

printing offices and large bookstores, where weekly papers are 
published, which are widely circulated through the surround- 
ing countr}^ The hotel, which is an elegant establishment, 
and the many fine private mansions of gentlemen of taste and 
opulence, give Utica a character in this respect worthy a great 
commercial town." 

Before Lltica had attained this greatness ray father went 
there as a boy of eleven years of age, in 1796, and was a clerk 
to his great-uncle, John Post, in whose employment he traveled 
among the neighboring Indians and bartered goods for ginseng. 
John Post was a brother of my father's grandmother. 

Afterwards he was a carrier on the Mohawk river, in con- 
nection with Walton & Co., of Schenectady, and a member of 
successive firms of carriers, Walton, De Graaf & Co.. DeGraaf, 
Van Santvord & Co., and finally A. Van Santvoord & Co. 

The course of trade and navigation during this period and 
later, before and after, was by sloop on the Hudson, between 
New York and Albany, across the plains to Schenectady by 
wagons and teams, then by boat (Batteaux) up the Mohawk to 
Rome, through a short canal at Rome {\\ mile in length) to 
Wood creek, by Wood creek to and through Oneida lake and 
by the Oswego river to Lake Ontario. There was a side cut 
with locks around the Little Falls at Herkimer, and there were 
dams in Wood creek to hold back the water with side cuts and 
locks, a portage around the falls at Oswego. 

The growth from a small hamlet, as found by my father on 
going thereat the first, in which were more stores than dwell- 
ing houses, until its recognition, in 181'^, as a great commercial 
town, was largely owing to expectations founded upon the 
aforesaid facilities for internal intercourse and navigation, that 
LTtica would become and remain the permanent center for the 
distribution of stores, provisions, and other supplies, and 
merchandise and mannfactured goods through the northwest 
and west. 

I was born in Utica, but as my father removed from there 
with his family, including me, in 1819, before I was six years 
of age and was still in kilts, I was in some doubt before con- 
sulting with my good friend, Luther R. Marsh, whether it 
would be proper for me to consider myself " a former resident 
of Utica." I think I may so consider myself, claiming to fall 
back, if necessary, to support my title, upon my right as rep- 
resenting my fatiier. 

The Hon. Charles P. Kirkland, whom you all know and 
honor, has sometimes said to me, your father and mine always 
wore ruified shirts, and you and I belong to the ruffled shirt 
party. 

If this is sound there can be no question but that I am a 
" former resident of Utica" and I am proud of it. 



The City of Utica. I2g 

My brother, Mr. Alfred Yan Santvoorcl, late of Albany, now 
of New York, was born in Utica, and might claim to be a 
Uticatensian on the ground of origin and the possession of the 
faculty of successful adaptation of instrumentalities in use to 
accomplish better results, and at less cost, to his own advan- 
tage and that of the public, which was a distinguishing and 
prominent trait of the men whose lives are sketched in the book 
of Pioneers of Utica. 

My knowledge of Utica from tradition through Abraham 
Yan Santvoord, my father, antedates its incorporation as a city. 
But I know from studies in State History, and information 
from and intercourse with its citizens whom I have known and 
know, and other sources of information, that Utica the city has 
not disappointed the promise of Utica the village. 

It has always had an invigorating air, and citizens distin- 
guished for good practical sense and enterprising spirit, of no- 
ble aspirations and generous impulses. 

It never was a " pent up Utica," and is no mean city. With 
much respect, your obedient servant, 

C. Yan Santvoord. 

FROM WILLIAM WALKER. 

87 East 53d Street, New York, Feb. 23, 1882. 
To R. S. Williams, Esq., Caairmian .• 

Dear Sir — Acknowledging the receipt of the invitation of 
the Oneida Historical Society, forwarded by you, as chairman 
of the committee, I am very sorry that I am obliged to decline. 
I am so near my 80th birthday that I do not feel equal to the 
fatigue and excitement of the trip. 

I'^left LTtica in the year 1820, so that two generations have 
passed away since I left Those now on the stage are, with 
few exceptions, descendants of old friends and acquaintances. 
In your name and the names of several of your committee, I 
recall those whose influence and example had much to do in 
shaping the character of your people, the distinguishing char- 
acteristics of which I think are conservatism and sound morality. 

With the hope that your gathering may be a successful and 
happy one, I am 

Your obedient servant, William Walker. 

FROM SAMUEL E. WARNER. 
98 South Oxford St., Brooklyn, Feb. 22, 1882. 

Dr. M. M. BagCt : 

My Dear Sir — I have just received from the committee, of 
which I see you are a member, an invitation to attend the Semi- 
I 



J JO Scmi-Ccntennial of 

Centennial Anniversary of the incorporation of our native city. 
As my business engagements will not allow me to be present 
on that interesting occasion, I am compelled to send my re- 
grets, with cordial thanks for the honor of the invitation. 

Of course I can be expected to recall few memories of that 
important event that occurred in such an early period of my 
boyhood. The authorities of Utica, whether as a village, or 
under the more ambitious control of a city corporation, were 
of little consequence to the bo^^s of my time, whose main con- 
cern w^as to secure the greatest amount of play that home duties 
and school requirements would allow. And that w^e enjoyed 
the fullest liberty in this regard, my pleasant recollections 
abundantly testify. 

My early asssociations of Utica are identified with the old 
Second ward ; so that the city must have been fully incorpor- 
ated befoi-e I was conscious of the great civic change. I can 
recall the patriotic pride with which in our juvenile contests at 
school and upon the street, we defended our claim to its supre- 
macy above the other wards. Did it not have the imposing- 
common council room, and the Mechanics' Hall, with its glit- 
tering dome, within its borders ? Were not the most powerful 
fire engines, the pride and admiration of the boys, located 
there? Did it not have the largest church, the highest steeple, 
and the loudest fire-bell, which rung out such stirring music 
when "Uncle Isaac" was at the rope? Were there any 
bridges over the canal so fine for coasting, or rather for plain 
" slidingdown-hill," as we phrased it in our uncultured da3^s ? 
And was any w'ard so sure for a rousing Whig majority in 
those by -gone times when boys were such heated and in- 
telligent partisans? 

As I recall it in those happy days, the Second Ward was 
worthy of local pride. It had enterprising, public-spirited 
citizens for its residents. Utica cannot forget, and will alwa3'S 
hold in honor, such names as Horatio Seymour, David Wager, 
Nathan Williams, John E. Hinman, George Dutton, E. M. 
Gilbert, Jesse Doolittle, Theodore Faxton, Hiram Greenman, 
Erastus Clark, James McGregor, Thomas Walker, General J. 
H. Ostrom, my own honored father, J. E. Warner, several 
times alderman of the ward, and others whose useful lives were 
spent in that ward, and some of \vhose descendants are yet 
among its residents. 

I especially recall one feature that marked the ward, making 
it the I'avored locality of a class of immigrants, who early were 
attracted to Central New York, and made Utica their center. 
The Second ward was the headquarters of the Welsh, who at 
one time constitiited an important portion of its population. 
Here were their two largest churches, and the church then was 
the favorite institution of the Welsh, as those well remember 



Tkc City of Utica. iji 

who lived in the vicinity, and who could hear, if they could 
not understand, the almost uninterrupted sounds of music or 
l^reaching in tlie numerous services from early dawn till late at 
night each Sabbath day. The sight of strange costumes, the 
women wearing men's high hats, and knitting their stockings 
as they walked, was more frequent in the streets of Utica in 
those early days than it is now even in Wales. They were an 
industrious, frugal, steady, virtuous class of population then. 
Whisky drinking was unknown among them, and liquor 
saloons had no attraction for them. I hope these traits still 
characterize their descendants. 

I have no time to prolong my reminiscence of the old Second 
Ward, dear to me in my boyhood, and remembered still with 
affectionate pride. 

I trust that the approaching celebration may serve to revive 
many delightful and honorable memories and associations of 
the home of our fathers ; and may inspire the present genera- 
tion with new attachment to the beautiful city that has 
always borne such a high name for intellectual culture, finan- 
cial integrity and moral worth. 

Very truly your old townsman, S. E. Warner. 



FROM PETER G. WEBSTER. 

Fort Plain, Feb. 27, 1882. 
Egbert S. Williams, Esq., Chairman^ <&c.: 

Dear Sir — I have just at this late day learned that a prior 
professional engagement cannot be postponed, in order to en- 
able me to participate in the Semi- Centennial Anniversary of 
the charter of the city of Utica. I would greatly enjoy the re- 
newal of old friendships, and the rehearsal of early reminiscences 
concerning the living denizens and the early history of your 
enterprising and thrifty town ; while at the same time, in re- 
curring to the past, I should also be saddened by kind and 
endearing remembrances of so many esteemed relatives and 
friends, and especially of one other dearlj^ beloved one, who 
were years since intombed in your beautiful city of the dead, 
the inscriptions upon whose marble tablets recall to memory 
many of your most distinguished, talented, energetic and use- 
ful citizens, who, within the last half century, walked your 
streets in the dignity of manhood and with the elastic grace of 
womanhood — all gone, gone, gone forever. 

How relentless and remorseless the ravages of time and death, 
which have no regard for artificial or natural landmarks, or for 
age, sex or condition in life. 

In the last year of the last century, my father, Doct. Joshua 
Webster, a young Yankee from the Qiresent) State of Maine, 



IJ2 Scnii-Ccntennial of 

who had just completed the study of medicine in Ulster 
county, N. Y., with Dr. James Oliver, who was then a state 
senator, requested his preceptor to inquire of other senators in 
regard to a good location in which to settle. The senator in the 
Oneida district named Deerfield, in your county, and our sena- 
tor recommended Palatine, Montgomery county. My father 
proceeded at once to Deerfield Corners, in Oneida county, 
where he found the ground preoccupied by the late Dr. 
Coventry, Sr. He tarried over night at the small tavern, 
occupied by Moses Bagg, Sr., on the south side of the Mohawk 
river; then wended his way back to Palatine, nearly opposite 
and a short distance from this place, where he remained three 
or four years, and then settled at what is now called Fort 
Plain. 

In 1815, or thereabouts. Dr. John McCall, of Hebron. 
Washington county, N. Y., who had just resigned his position 
as surgeon in the army at the close of the last war, wishing to 
find a location for practice, was advised by his army friend, 
Major Myers, to settle at Palatine, near Fort Plain. He gave 
the doctor a letter of introduction to Captain James Cochrane, 
informing him that there was no chance for him there, as his 
friend and family physician. Dr. Webster, supplied all the pro- 
fessional needs of that section, and named Deerfield, in Oneida 
county, for the young doctor. Whereupon he, with his wife 
and furniture journeyed on and located at Deerfield, and soon 
after formed a copartnership with the late Dr. Coventry, Sr. 
They subsequently moved to Utica, where Dr. McCall for 
many years continued a very large and lucrative practice. He, 
though deemed somewhat peculifir in some respects, was 
learned and very skillful in his profession. In the 3'ear 1832, when 
Asiatic cholera was desolating the land, and many citizens and 
physicians fled for their lives. Dr. McCall, a fearless and faith- 
ful professional guardian of the remainder, stood manfully and 
undaunted at his post, to combat the dreadful malady. 

He was a courteous gentlemen of extensive and profound 
general knowledge, in practice adopting the maxim of Jeffer- 
son, " that an ounce of positive knowledge was better than a 
pound of conjecture." He was remarkably accurate in his 
recollection of dates and local events, and often entertained and 
interested as well as amused others by the relation thereof. 

As a sequence to the preceding coincidences, in 18-14 the 
writer hereof became united in matrimony with Miss Helen 
Mar McCall, the highly intellectual, accomplished and dearly 
beloved daughter of Dr. McCall, whose remains were a long- 
time since deposited in your beautiful cemetery, and now lie 
by the side of her parents and- her brother, Wallace McCall, 
one of the most clear-headed, laconic, talented and promising 



The City of Utica. IJJ 

young lawyers in the state, where she awaits the final resurrec- 
tion of the dead "who die in the Lord." 

Excuse this extended communication, accept my thanks for 
the very kind invitation to be present on the occasion referred 
to, and express to your committee my regrets at my inability 
to attend. 

Yours verv trulv, Peter G. Webster. 



FROM HON. THURLOW WEED. 

New York, February 27, 1882. 

My Dear Sir — ^Your letter of the 17th inst., inviting me to 
attend the Semi-Centennial Anniversary of the charter of the 
city of Utica, was duly received, and, if my health permitted, 
the invitation would be cheerfully accepted. My recollections 
of Utica in its village days, and of its earl}^ inhabitants, are 
equally agreeable and enduring. Of those inhabitants then 
actively connected with its various pursuits and enterprises few 
if any survive. The late Theodore S. Faxton, between whom 
and myself a warm friendship existed for nearly seventy years, 
was probably the last link in the chain which united the present 
with the past. 

Utica, I doubt not, owes much of its prosperity to its pioneer 
professional men, merchants and mechanics. Prominent among 
the latter class were the Danas, the Culvers, the Hoyts, the 
Stockings, etc., etc. 

I went from Onondaga to Utica in November, 1812, and 
was fortunate in obtaining employment in the printing office of 
Seward and Williams. Late in January, 1813, on a report 
that Sacketts Harbor was to be invaded William Williams, 
then a lieutenant in an infantry company, promptly volunteered 
his services, and consented to enroll me in his company. We 
started for Sacketts Harbor in sleighs, traveling night and day. 
Volunteers joined us at Rome, from Lee and Western. The 
British, however, did not put in an appearance. The most 
interesting event in tliat brief campaign was the arrival of the 
6th regiment of United States Infantry, commanded by Colonel 
Pike, having marched from Plattsburgh through the Chateaguay 
woods to Sackett's Harbor on snow shoes. On returning to 
Utica, after an absence of six weeks, I was pleasantly employed 
on tiie Columhian Gazette, a republican paper published and 
edited by Thomas Walker, Esq., who was also the village mag- 
istrate. In September of the same year Captain Thomas 
Skinner's company of artillery was ordered into service. Our 
foreman belonged to that company, but as he did not, and I 
did, want to see service, I was accepted as his substitute, and 
after doing duty three months at different stations on the shores of 



IJ4 Semi-Cciitcnnial of 

Lake Ontario, was mustered out and returned to Utica. Captain 
Skinner, for what reason I do not know, remaining at home, 
our company was commanded by Lieut. Eells, of Whitesboro, 
with J. B. Pease as second lieutenant. Mr. Higby, of New 
Hartford, was our orderly sergeant, and Mr. Richardson, of the 
same town, our first corporal. While we were stationed at 
Brownville an aged Quaker lady died. While attending her 
funeral in a Quaker meeting house, the silence was broken by 
the sudden entrance of a military officer in full uniform, who 
strode up the aisle with a heavy broadsword dangling on the 
floor, and took his seat with the mourners. That officer was 
Major General Jacob Brown, a son of the deceased, then in 
command of the army at the Harbor, who had hastily ridden 
on horseback to attend the funeral of his mother. The contrast 
between the simple costume and quiet manner of the Friends 
and the rich military trappings of the general was highly 
dramatic. 

The Utica Sentinel, a federal paper published by Ira Merrill, 
was edited by William H. Maynard, a young lawyer, who 
subsequently became a prominent politician, and died of cholera, 
in 1832, while attending an extra session of the senate, of which 
he was an eloquent and influential member. The late A. Gr. 
Dauby was then an apprentice in the Sentinel office. We became 
and remained warm friends for more than half a century and 
until his death. 

The citizens of Utica during my brief residence among them 
" pursued the even tenor of their ways" iindistarbed by excite- 
ment or sensations. The leading members of the Oneida bar, 
as I remember them, were General Kirkland, Nathan Williams, 
David W. Childs. of Utica, with Jonas Piatt, Thomas R. Gold 
and Mr. Sill, of Whitesboro. John H. Ostrom and Charles P. 
Kirkland were reading Blackstone and reciting Junius. 

My cherished friend, Governor Seymour, so long an honored 
citizen of Utica, was born in Pompey, in 1810. In two years I 
became a resident of Utica. 

Colonel Walker, who resided near the south line of the village, 
was much respected as a citizen, and venerated as having served 
on General Washington's staff. Bagg's Hotel was an institu- 
tion. Canals, railroads and telegraphs had not then been even 
dreamed of. 

There is no better way of contrasting the facilities for 
traveling in 1812 with those of the present day than by recall- 
ing the fact that a daily line of stages between Albany and 
Utica, and a stage eveiy other day between Utica and Buffalo, 
with an occasional "extra," accommodated the traveling public. 
At least two-thirds of the passengers were merchants and 
lawyers — the former going to Alban}^ or New York to purchase 
goods, the latter attending courts. Jason Parker of Utica, 



TJic City of Utica. /J5 

Sherwood of Skaneateles, Thorp of Albany, were the widely 
known proprietors of the line of stages. 

Very truly, Thurlow Weed. 



FROM JAMES C. WETMORE. 
12 Elm Street, Elizabeth, N. J., Feb. 25, 1882. 

To Robert S. Williams, Esq., Chairman, and others^ Com- 
'fnitUe of the Oneida Historical Society^ Utica, N. JT.: 
Dear Sirs — I am in receipt of your kind invitation to be 
present at the meeting of your society on the first prox. to 
commemorate the Semi-Centennial Anniversary of the charter 
of the city of Utica. 

Regretting that my engagements are such as to prevent me 
from being present, and as you further honor me by asking for 
" a letter that ma}' be read on that occasion," I take the liberty 
of penning some of m}^ '' recollections" of the dear old city of 
Utica and the county of Oneida. To establish my own status, 
I will state that I was born in Whitesboro on the 1st of May, 
1813, and resided there, with my parents, and at Trenton and 
at Utica up to September, 1832. 

My "recollections" are so full of pleasant incidents to me, I 
hardly know what first to pen that would be either likely to 
interest or amuse you, or add to the local history of your 
society. 

"early history." 

Some of the senior members of the society may remember 
that in "old times" there was much rivalry and jealousy existing 
between Utica and Whitestown. In this, the boj^s of the two 
villages keenly participated. On Saturdays they would meet 
in considerable numbers, between the two places, and have 
regular pitched battles. Oa one occasion the Whitesboro boys 
being victorious, they took a number of prisoners and dragged 
them along up to and underneath the leaks of the then new 
aqueduct, over the creek,'near the " Wetmore Mills," and gave 
them a good shower bath. As it may be imagined, it was 
dangerous for any Whitesboro boy to be seen in Utica for 
some time after that. In the skating season there were cer- 
tain marks on the river and canal, above or below which no 
Utica or Whitesboro boy dared venture. 

While the boys were fighting it out on their respective lines, 
the older people were discussing the advantages of their re- 
spective places. The Uticans contended that they were at 
" the head of navigation," to which the Whitestown people 
would persistently respond by calling Utica "a hole," " that no 
one having regard to his health or respectcd)ility would live in." 



ij6 Scmi-Cc7itcnnial of 

Whitesboro at that time claimed, and justly, too, to have the 
" best society " of any place west of Albanj^ While the 
citizens of the two places were contendinoj for the new settlers 
that were just coming in from New England, Judge Jedediah 
Sanger conceived the idea of leaving the contentious people of 
Utica and Whitesboro "out in the cold," by turning the 
Genesee turnpike abruptly south to New Hartford. The latter 
place being upon higher ground, and offering some facilities for 
mills, etc , would very naturally attract settlers ; but as we all 
know now, the " barge navigation '' on the Mohawk and sub- 
sequently the canal settled the question in favor of the " place 
in a hole.'' 

The leading men engaged in the navigation of the river in 
my boyhood were the Dows, of Deerfield, one of whom I re- 
member injured one of his legs so that it had to be amputated, 
and while the doctors were sawing it off in a bungling manner, 

Mr. Dows, with a chip between his teeth, said : " This is 

sight harder than poling a boat up the Mohawk." He lived 
many years afterwards and became a very heavy, stout man 
and a substantial farmer, on the fiats opposite Whitesboro. 
Some of his descendants have continued the " forwarding " 
business to this day. Mr. David Dows, of New York city, I 
believe, is a grand or a great-grandson of the Mr. D. referred to. 

My father, the late Rev. Oliver Wetmore, settled in Oneida 
county about 1806, having been sent there b}' an orthodox 
Congregational Society of Connecticut, as missionary. Duty 
called him at one time to the "Montezuma country," where 
there was at that time plenty of "fever and ague." When he 
was about to return, the people desired to pay him something 
for his services : not having any "dollars of their daddies," and 
little or no market f(M' their wdieat, the}" gave him a barge load 
of that then [comparatively valueless commodity, which he 
caused to be brought to Whitesboro. 

Our communication, with the world, at the time I refer to 
was confined (at least, in the section of the country we lived in) 
to a two-horse covered wagon, owned and driven bj- an old 
man by the name of Parsons, who wore a long " linsey 
woolsey " overcoat and a wide-brimmed hat and had one eye 
that was awfully askew. We did not mind that^ however, for 
we were always glad to hear his horn and see him, for he 
brought tidings from old Connecticut. That was enough at 
that time to make him welcome for heads of families at least. 
Seats in his stage had to be engaged months ahead. At the 
time appointed the good Parsons would drive around to the 
different settlements for his passengers. It took him two 
weeks to make the trip to Hartford. I was a passenger once, 
so my mother informed me some j^ears afterwards. 

I cannot diop this stage business without at least having a 
word to say about the 



The City of Utica. 137 

" GREAT STAGE LINE " 

of Jason Parker & Co., that was an iitstitution in its time, that 
was managed with great success and tended to the building up 
of Utica and of waste places along the line generally. Their 
success tempted several " opposition lines," which soon came 
to naught. One that lasted the longest was a " Great Tem- 
perance Line of Stages " from Albany to Buffalo. 

It may well be asked what temperance had to do with 
*' horses and stage coaches." I do not know that I have been 
able to this day to settle, in m}- own mind, that question. I 
well remember the plumed horses, the blowing of long tin 
horns, and the cracking of whips b}^ the temperance (?) drivers, 
as they drove up Genesee street to the "Coffee House" (kept 
by Mr. Wells) which was situated on the southeast corner of 
Genesee street and the canal. Time, the settler of all human 
show and pretence, brought the "Temperance Line" to an 
auction block, while the "Old Line" went on its even way, 
making money for its owners, till the iron rails put a stop to it. 
The people for a long time tried to account for the failure of 
the Temperance Line. Some said that the taverns which the 
T. Line stop at were altogether too temperate in the provision 
they made for the " dry and hungry passengers." The horses, 
some said, " were kept on too low a diet," while others who were 
more elevated and religious in their thoughts accounted for 
the failure by saying that there were more "sinners that 
traveled than righteous men," ergo, the transgressors all went 
the " old way," which I think the people of Utica, from the ex- 
perience they have had in the way of gifts and bequests from 
some of the "Old Line" proprietors, thought was the right way. 
Long may the memories of them remain green in the hearts of 
the people. 

To continue my "recollections" chronologically. The hang- 
ing of John Tuhi, an Indian, on Corn Hill, back of the present 
residence of ex-Senator Conkling, was a great event, and created 
great excitement at the time. People from all parts of the 
countrj' went to the execution. The name of an Indian at that 
time was a terror to all children. 

The next great event was the celebration of the completion 
of the Erie canal. Soon after followed the visit of 

GEN. LA FAYETTE, 1824. 

He came, as you all know, from Buffalo by the canal. The 
people flocked en masse to the line of the canal to see and bid 
him " welcome." He was received by the citizens of Whites- 
boro, on a lawn in front of the beautiful residence of Judge 
Jonas Piatt. A platform was erected under two large elms, 
the trunks of which supported an arch on which was inscribed, 
" Welcome^ La Fayette." 



Ij8 Sent i- Ccn ten n ia I of 

Kefreshments were provided in the Judge's house. Soon 
after, the General was tKken over across the "green," to see the 
old home of Hugh White and to pay his respects to some 
female members of the Judge's family that were then living 
there. Soon after which the ''Utica Committee " took charge 
of the distinguished guest, and he was escorted by a number of 
horsemen, followed by the people in carriages and wagons, to 
Utica. In crossing the canal bridge, midway between the two 
places, it was said that the general asked a halt, that he might 
see one of the prettiest views he said he had looked upon in all 
his travels. Soon after passing the bridge a double brown house, 
shingled, on the north side of the road, was pointed out as the 
first dwelling in the county that had glass windows; oiled 
white paper being universally used in those before erected. 

On reaching Utica the procession turned to the right and 
passed along an open, unpaved street, with but few, if any, 
houses upon it, which was, I believe, christened at the time 
" La Fayette Street," in honor, of course, of the distinguished 
visitor. The street, as well as Genesee street, had several 
arches thrown over it that had appropriate mottoes or words in- 
scribed thereon. On reaching " the square," the general 
alighted and was shown into the right hand parlor of Bagg's 
Hotel, (I believe it was called " Bagg's Tavern '' then) and he 
took his position in the southeast corner of the room. My 
father, holding me by the hand, presented me. The general, 
p)utting his hand upon my head, said many pleasant things 
which I was too confused to remember afterwards. His 
features and the occasion I shall probably never forget. I had 
the satisfaction, twenty-five years later, of visiting his tomb in 
a small churchyard in the city of Paris. 

THE REVIVAL. 

The next great sensation in Oneida after the visit of La- 
Fayette was the " Great Revival " of the Rev. Mr. Finney, 
when the "terrors of the law " were preached with all possible 
vehemence. Daily services, particularly evening services, 
were held to late hours of the night. Prominent citizens were 
named in prayers. On one occasion / heard a very distin- 
guished citizen in the community prayed for in the following 
language : " Oh, God ! wilt thou take that old sinner. Col. 

M , and shake him over hell," etc. The clergyman that 

made the prayer was a minister by the name of Smith. The 
people, as you may imagine, did not take to him fmich and he 
" went west." The colonel, as it turned out, was neither vexed 
nor disturbed by being so publicly noticed " in meeting." The 
young people of the village were horrified at the thought that 

any one should pray that so good a man as Col. M should 

be placed in so imminent a peril. 



The City of Utica. ijg 

THE WAR OP 1812-'13. 

• Ooeida was in the way of troops passing to and from the 
lakes. This naturally created in the minds of the youth a 
military spirit, which lasted for many years. Nothing in my 
bojdiood was more impatiently looked for than the annual 
training day of the county, Whitesboro being tlie most central. 
The one regiment of infantry, one or two companies of cavalry 
and foot artillery made up the "great parade." 

The streets of the town and the road bordering the parade 
ground used to be lined with farmers' wagons loaded with 
barrels of cider and huge flat cakes of gingerbread. The meniL 
prepared by the tavern-keeper consisted, so far as my memory 
serves me, of 

Roast Pig — Tail turned up, with a turnip in the snout. 
Spareribs — That were spare-ribs. 

Boiled Ham — au naturel. 
DESSERT. 
Pumpkin Pie. Rice Pudding. 

Apple Pie. Bread Pudding. 

FRUIT. 
Apples — In abundance. Apple Cider. 

Coffee — a la Rye. 

Tea — a la "Schew Shong." 

The furnishing of the feast was contended for by all the 
tavern keeiDcrs. The privilege of holding an officer's horse was 
esteemed very highly by all the boys. If the boy had a good 
stock of courage, he would lead the spirited animal up to a 
fence or a block and mount and walk him about very gently. 

In what I have said above, I do not wish you to suppose 
that the early settlers of Oneida, who were " well to do" in the 
world, lived upon "hog and hominy." Quite the contrary, for 
no " new " community probably lived better or more refined 
than did the best people of Oneida. Their "dinners" and 
their "evening parties" had a wide-spread reputation. While 
they did not have fancy or mixed beverages, they had 
" Maderia " from the Island of that name direct. More atten- 
tion was paid to kitchens in those days than at present. I will 
venture to say that no kitchen in any one of the palatial resi- 
dences of your beautiful city can compare with the kitchen of 
Judge Piatt at that time — a large square room with light and 
air all about it. Its walls covered with brass and copper plat- 
ters, dishes and covers, that shone like mirrors, and with a floor 
as white and clean as any "man-of-war's " deck. Poultry that 
had been stuft'ed before killing, was to be met with, on every 
lady's table. Grreat attention was paid, in those days, to the 
gardens and grounds about the dwellings. Judge Piatt's, 
Thomas R Gold's, Mr. Tracy's and Mr. Berry's, in Whites- 
town, were particularly fine, as were the gardens (in Utica) of 
Judge Morris Miller, foot of Main street ; Mr. Kip's, on the 



140 Semi-Ccntciinial of 

south side of the canal, on Washington street ; Mr. Wells', on 
the canal, back of his house where your city market and other 
buildings are at present; and Judge Williams' and the Hon. 
Henry Seymour's, at a later date, on Whitesboro street. 

About 1S28, as many of you probably remember, the 
" Asiatic " cholera made its appearance in India, and slowly 
worked its way into Europe, when our people began to count 
the years and months when it would reach America, and when 
it did, that would be the end of things. It did reach us, as 
many too well and sadly remember, in the summer of 

1832, 
the year that Utica was incorporated as a city, which circum- 
stance in its history your society is to meet for the purpose of 
commemorating. 

It was expected that it would first make its appearance in 
New York, where almost everything foreign does appear first, 
but, to the astonishment of every one, it was first announced as 
having appeared in Canada. How it came there no one could 
tell. It was not long before it appeared on the south side of the 
lakes. Fear seemed to take possession of every one. Ever}^- 
body that had a cellar, yard or out-building that had never been 
cleaned before, began to remove and expose to the summer's 
sun, dirt and vegetation in every conceivable state of decom- 
position, the result of which was fearful mortality. 

It broke out ui Utica on a Sunday morning, while most of 
the people were in their respective places of worship. Those 
that attended the First Presbyterian were informed of it just as 
they were coming out of church. And when they learned that 
it was Mr. Rockwell, one of the most estimable citizens of the 
place, who lived just below the church on the opposite side of 
the street, that had died of the disease, the alarm was fearful. 
Every one seemed possessed with a desire to fiee. Being some- 
what 3^ounger then than I am now, I was disposed to flee to ; 
so, as earl v in the week as "arrangements" could be made, 
Thornton Kirkland, (now dec'd) a son of Gen. Joseph Kirkland, 
the first Mayor of the city, and m vself,took a horse and buggy and 
turned our faces westward; to where,we did not know exactly our- 
selves. The first sioip we made was at the Turnpike Gate, half way 
between Utica and New Hartford, (you must remember that 
everything from Utica was quarantined at that time) but when 
we reached the gate beyond New Hartford we met with a very 
different "keeper " from the one we had just left behind. He 
was determined that we should show a clean bill of health. 
We put on the best faces we could ; said some things and left 
some thmgs unsaid, the result of it all was, the man became 
satisfied that we were not very dangerous. The gate was 
opened and we passed through, breathing a little more freely. 



The City of Utica. i^i 

We drove on till night overtook us ; who or what good Samari- 
tan took us in, I do not now remember. We continued our 
" Westward Ho " till we reached the beautiful lakes of Geneva, 
Seneca, etc. At the end of about two weeks we returned to 
Utica, decidedly in a better frame of mind than when we left. 
That was the last of mj running from diseases. Wherever 
Providence has cast my lot since, and cholera, yellow fever or 
small pox has appeared, I have met it as in duty bound, without 
fleeing from them. 

In September of the cholera year I left Utica for the city of 
New York, to live. The following summer I made a visit to 
Utica, and when about to return to New York I was invited 
by my friend, George W. Clinton, (now dead) a son of the 
late Mrs. Abram Yarick, by her first husband, to go with him 
in an " extra," which he had taken to Schenectady. The trip 
was to be the quickest eye^- made. I of course accepted, and had 
my first experience in 

'• RAPID TRANSIT." 

The coach drove up to the door of Bagg's Hotel, about sun- 
rise. I got in and took my place on the hack seat, while he got 
on with the driver. The whip was cracked and we crossed the 
bridge on to the " dyke ;" all speed possible was given to the 
horses. Change of horses were ready at every relay. What 
with the bridges and rails that we crossed at full speed, and 
the banging I received, there was not much left of my new 
high crowned hat when I reached Schenectady, which was 
while the tavern bells were ringing for supper. The time was 
pronounced the quickest that had ever been made. We were 
" lions," of course, at the tavern where we took our suppers 
that night. 

Believe me, very respectfully and sincerely yours, 

James Carnahan Wetmore. 

FROM RICHARD WHALEN. 

EocHESTER, N. Y., Feb. 27, 1882. 
To Egbert S. Williams, Esq., Chairman of Oneida 

Historical Society : 

Sir — I am honored by the receipt of your invitation to attend 
the Semi-Centennial Anniversary of the charter of the city of 
Utica. 

Being bound to your beautiful city by many ties of friend- 
ship of a personal and public nature, it would afford me the 
greatest pleasure to be present at the exercises commemorating 
"Utica City's" 50th birthday. I very much regret that a 
previous engagement will prevent my being present. Though 
absent in person, I shall be there in spirit. 

Yours respectfully, Richard Whalejst. 



142 Sc mi -Centennial of 

FROM SQUIRE WHIPPLE. 

Albany, Feb. 27, 1882. 

To Robert S. Williams, Cludrman^ and others of the Oneida 
Historical Society : 

Gentlemen — ^^ Moriturus salute vos f' and thank you for 
your kind recognition of my humble self, and your invitation 
to a symposium on the first proximo. 

Once I was young, now I am old. I have often seen the 
innocent oppressed and the unjust sitting in high places 
Nevertheless, time wags on, and has wagged out of life many 
of those whom I knew best while a citizen of your goodly city. 
I should greatly enjo}^ the meeting of such old friends as have 
thus far witnessed the buffets of time, and the successors of 
such as have departed. But age and bodily condition render 
it imprudent for me to entertain such a purpose. But your 
kind compliment excites a few rambling thoughts and reminis- 
cences, which I may be allowed to express in writing upon this 
occasion, commonplace though they may be. 

In 1833, I believe, I became a resident of Utica, being then 
employed in the oflfice of the late Holmes Hutchinson, Esq., 
whose genial friendship and kindness to myself will ever be 
gratefull}^ remembered. The son of that gentleman, whose 
name I recognize among those who unite in this kind recogni- 
tion of myself, and who held honorable relation to the affairs 
of your city, was at time about what might be expected of a 
bright lad three or four feet high. But they say we were all 
boys at earlj^ periods of life, though we do not all subsequently 
attain to the honorable position of chief magistrate of a city 
like our genial friend C. W. H. 

Considerable changes have taken place since the period 
above alluded to, in Utica as well as other parts. Then your 
city contained some twelve thousand people. Since that time 
the population has more than trebled, and taxation has in- 
creased in a duplicate ratio to increase of population — unless 
Utica has fared better in that respect than most other muni- 
cipalities. 

As this is a matter of some importance to the present genera- 
tion, let us test the question by figures, which some say will not 
lie, though others are skeptical upon the subject. If I am not 
misinformed the early city charter restricted ihe amount to be 
raised for municipal purposes to the sum of $8,000. Assuming 
that to be so, the population having increased in a three fold 
ratio, the duplicate of which is nine fold, multiplying $8,000 by 
nine gives $72,000 for the municipal tax of 1882. Now, if 
Utica gets off with less than that, she is lucky and my estimate 
is an exaggeration. 



The City of Utica. ' i^j 

Albaii}', with a population only about double that of Utica, 
■raises a municipal tax of more than six times $72,000. But it 
may perhaps appear inopportune and ungracious to be croaking 
about taxation on this occasion, and some of the later acces- 
sions to the population of Utica, who thirst for historical 
knowledge, may be glad of the information that the writer 
hereof, soon after becoming a resident of the city, bought a lot 
of the late George Hopper, Esq., and built an unpretentious 
domicile in the then open field, on Steuben, twenty or thirty 
rods beyond South street, in the part of the city now called 
Cornhill. Why it was thus named I know not, but I do know 
that the ground thereabouts at that time had lately borne a crop 
of corn, and the corn-hills and stubs were still conspicuous. 

That humble domicile of mine stood there many years alone 
in its singleness, a somewhat conspicuous landmark, visible 
from the hills on both sides of the Mohawk valley. It is now, 
however, almost in the heart of the city ; insonuich that re- 
cently on visiting the place I had difficulty in identifying the 
locality. 

I left the Central for the Capitol city in 1850, leaving many 
very good friends, and no enemies that 1 am aware of. For 
many years thereafter, on my casual visits and short sojourns 
in your place, I was wont to meet many old acquaintances and 
familin- faces. But latterly, I have walked the length of a 
large portion of (jenesee street without seeing a familiar face 

The city still contains some reminders of the writer's former 
labors, but they will soon have to give place to works more in 
accordance with modern tastes and ideas. Every generation 
hopes and strives to make its mark a little higher than its 
predecessor's, and the track must be cleared for the march of 
progress. 

The Erie canal, the pride of the state, half a century ago, is 
now obliged to play second fiddle to the railroad, and they say 
it must work for nothing and find itself, even to enjoy that 
liumble privilege. Call it progress or retrogression, as you 
prefer. 

The electric telegraph, the photograph, the telephone, electric 
illumination, electromotion and ocean steam navigation, have 
all had their birth, and grown to lusty proportions within the 
period you commemorate ; and, whereas, there were not, in 
1832, one hundred miles of railroad on the continent, the miles 
of iron way are now numbered by hundreds of thousands. 
Moreover, at the risk of being charged with an exhibition of 
bad taste, I will add, that, while fifty years ago there was not 
an iron truss bridge upon this continent, if there was upon this 
globe, in 1882, there is almost no other, at least, of lecent con- 
struction ; and Utica is the point whence that ball was first set 
.a-rolling, and has gone on like fame, " crescens eundoy Utica, 



1 44 Scnii-Ccntciuiial of 

the city of half a century : TJtica, the home of eminent states- 
men and jurists, of philosophers and scholars, and men of en- 
terprise and distinction in all the honorable departments of 
human affairs. Cheers for Utica and all its people. 

May your celebration be joyous and your future prosperity 
continuous. 

Very respectfuU}^, Squire Whipple. 

FROM HON. PHILO WHITE. 

Whitesboro, Feb. 25, 18S2. 

Gentlemen of the CoiiiiniUce of the Oneida Historical Society : 

I am honored with your circular invitation to attend the 
Semi-Centennial Anniversary of the charter of the "village of 
Utica," on the 1st of March proximo. I was first a resident of 
the "village of Utica" in the years 1812 and 1813, being then 
a pupil in the seminary there, of which Eliasaph Dorchester 
was the principal of the faculty. Those years, marking an in- 
teresting era in our "second war of independence" from 
England. Thomas Walker, senior, the founder and proprietor of 
the Columbian Gazette, at Utica, persuaded Mr. Dorchester, 
who enjoyed a fair scholastic reputation, to associate with him as 
an assistant editor, the thrilling events of the then war bearing 
heavily upon Mr. Walker's journalistic labors. Mr. Dor- 
chester's editorial services did not, however, it seems, fulfill Mr. 
Walker's anticipations, and his connection with the Columbian 
Gazette ceased after a year or two. Most of the members of 
our Historical Society are doubtless familiar with Mr. Dor- 
chester's subsequent course of life. He acquired a smattering 
of the tj' pographical art while connected with the Gazette office, 
and some year or so after his severance from that establishment, 
he was encouraged by a segment of the democratic party, 
styled "buck-tails,"' to start a third newspaper in Utica, named 
the Utica Observer. The objective ann of the "buck-tails" was 
to subvert the regular democratic (subsequently known as the 
"Clintonian") party, and, by an adroit widely-published "pro- 
nuncia'nento," signed by " fifty-seven high-minded federal- 
ists," (as they styled themselves,) who, together with numerous 
other and miscellaneous accretions, augmented the " buck- 
tail" party into a majority in Oneida county. The Observer 
having been their political organ, Mr. Dorchester, its editor, was 
elected county clerk as a reward for his editorial labors. This 
V\ras the climax of his auspicious fortunes. Placing the Obser- 
ver establishment in the hands of the late A. G. Dauby — by 
whose enterprise, tact and talent that paper became the leading 
political journal in Western New York, and under the judicious 
executive management and expert journalism of Messrs. Grove 



The City of Utica. 145 

k Bailey, assisted by the surpassing editorial ability of Colonel 
Theodore P. Cook, the Daily and ^¥e€kly Observer of the pre- 
sent day ranks as one of the most prominent and ably conduct- 
ed democratic journals in the state. Mr. Dorchester prospered 
during tile four years' assiduous devotion to his clerical duties. 
Afterwards he resumed his former vocation as a classical 
teacher. But, as increase of years decreased his faculties of 
gaining a livelihood, he died at an advanced age in penury and 
want. 

I ma}^ be pardoned for here recurring to my own case: 
After Mr. Dorchester resigned his position as teacher to assume 
that of co-editor, I continued my academic studies under the 
tuition of William PI. Maynard, ' who, I think, taught a select 
school, Simeon De Witt Bloodgood and Thomas H. Flandrau 
being among my fellow students. Eventually, however, instead 
of matriculating as a "freshman" in Rev. Dr. Azel Backus' 
college, at Clinton, I was persuaded to be inducted into Mr. 
Walker's Columbian Gazette printing office, to learn the "art" of 
printing and be taught the craft of journalism. I continued in 
that "institution" a course of four years, practicing typography 
and scribbling for the Gazette — the latter clandestinely at first, 
but subsequently as an acceptable contributor. During this 
period William Walker (eldest son of the editor) and myself 
started a small weekly publication which we called the Youths' 
Monitor. Quite soon, however, a rival (similar) sheet appeared, 
the Aurora., gotten up by other tyros of literature, emulous of 
the eclat of journalism ! Literary and scientific improvement 
was the professed design of these juvenile "periodicals." But 
a laudable emulation and natural rivalry between the 
two was soon fanned into flames of effervescent disputa- 
tion in their columns, embracing not only mooted for- 
tuitous problems of discussion, digressing eventually in- 
to fields of irrelevant criticism of men and of corporate 
autho]-ities, &c., so pungent as ultimately to cause their quietus. 
I may here refer to one notable instance : There was then a 
prominent citizen of Utica named Oudenaarde. He was reputed 
wealthy ; went precisely clad, was social, genial and generous 
with ail whom he met on the street. Now, in Williams' direc- 
tory of Utica, 1817, the profession, trade or vocation of every 
male was given. Oudenaarde had no visible "business" nor 
was be a professional man; accordingly "gentleman" was placed 
opposite his name, he being the only one who was thus digni- 
fied in the directory of that year. This was rich food for the 
Monitor's and the Aurora's sarcasms. They proclaimed it as a 
shameful scandal, that our favorite "Utica" should possess only 
one "gentleman" among all its population. Their satire be- 
came so caustic, on Oudenaarde especially, that the seniors of 
the village put their heads together and interdicted any further 
K 



7^<5 Sem i- Centennial of 

issue of those small-frj "periodicals." Thus did I "graduate" 
as a public journalist, which was the cardinal profession of 
mj after years, bearing me successfully through a lengthened 
career of private and official life, at home and. abroad* 

My health is fairly good ; but I exceedingly regret that a 
temporary bronchial affection will prevent my mingling in your 
interesting Semi-Centennial on Wednesday next. 

Very truly your fellow countyman, Philo White. 

FROM A. WILLIAMS. 

Chicago, Feb. 25, 1882. 
Egbert S. Williams, Esq., Chairman^ and others : 

Gentlemen — I thank you most heartily for your invitation to 
take part in the Semi-Centennial celebration of the birth of my 
nativ'e cit}-. I recall many pleasant memories connected with 
my early home. 

At this distance, and with only the recollections of my early 
years, I recall many events happening in Utica which are per- 
haps of more interest tome than would be interesting to others 
on this occasion. The time seems long, to look at the cold 
type, which gives the years 1832-1882. I have lived through 
the whole period. I did not think I v;as so old. I have been 
thinking I was still a young man, wondering when some of 
these old men were going to get out of my way, when here 
comes a reminder telling me I am an old man myself. I nsed 
to think a man who had lived fifty years had lived long enough, 
but now I am willing to extend the time. 

Utica to me, who have been absent so many years, will always 
seem to be the great stage and packet boat center. My con- 
science ! How the whips would crack and the tin horns peal 
forih their music. Butterfield and Greenman were the great new 
lights that wei-e rushing business. The old CoffeeHouse had to 
give way to the new and grand National Hotel, while the days 
of the York House were numbered in the face of the competi- 
tion centering about the Genesee street bridge. The attractions 
for me amid the excitement of the packet boat season, caused 
such delays in movements as produced very serious un- 
pleasantness between Schoolmaster Barber and myself. What 
\)oy of fifty is there among jow who has not resolved, to whip 
Schoolmaster Barber ? The cit}^ was chartered in the year of 
the death of my uncle. Ezra S. Cozier, who lost his life in the 
discharge of a heroic dut}^ during the terrible cholera of that 
year, and many who take part on this occasion will remember 
him and his self-sacrificing devotion to Utica in its infancy, 
and the sorrowing scenes amid which he lost his life. My 
father, Abraham B. Williams, after a long residence, died there 



The City of Utica. 147 

in his prime, and his bones and those of my mother repose in 
your beautiful cemetery. If my connection with the honored 
dead herein mentioned had alone prompted the invitation 
which you extend, I should feel honored and gratified beyond 
my ability to express. 

As my birth place, and for a long period my home, I feel a 
great pride in the acknowledged commercial position of Utica, 
and in her able and good men. I regret that business engage- 
ments will prevent me from taking part in this celebration. 
Again thanking you for your remembrance at this time, 

I am yours respectfully, Abram WilliaMvS. 

FROM REV. H. WILLIAMS. 

The Parsonage, So. Portsmouth, R. I. 

Feb. 23, 18S2. 
Robert S. Williams, Esq., 

My Dear Sir — I am sorr}^ that I cannot look forward to the 
pleasure of joining in the commemoration of the Semi-Centennial 
Anniversary of my native city, as proposed by the Oneida 
Historical Society, the 1st of March, to which you have done 
me the honor to invite me. As I read the names of your com- 
mittee, I see an ample provision for your evening's entertain- 
ment. My memories are chiefly of my boyhood, before the 
founding of the city, and having more of the sportive character 
of Remus than of the gravity of his brother. Children now 
a days are very much neglected, are put out of the way, by 
themselves, to enjoy themselves after their own manner, which 
needs no oversight ; but then, as I recall it. the whole village, 
with many wide streets, was given up to boys and girls for a 
play ground. Mud pies were provided for at every crossing, 
and one had only to step out of the front door to find a running 
stream or a small lake to sail his boat in. In the winter it was 
not enough that we could go to school on skates, but the 
mighty Mohawk sometimes covered the fields with ice for the 
especial delight of boyhood. In those days — but you have 
changed all that, since you became a city — sunshine made a 
real holiday ; the children looked forward to it and looked 
back upon it for a long time. 

If at your sj^mposium there should be one venerable gentle- 
man, who can recall the military glories of the Utica Academy, 
he should be called upon to tell of the wonderful exploits and 
more wonderful equipments. These last consisted in part of 
the discarded habiliments of some company of full-grown 
soldiers — the head gear particularly, as being too large for them, 
was allowed to descend upon our shoulders, which it literally 
did in many instances at first, till stuffed and wadded with 
newspapers and pocket handkerchiefs. As instead of heavy 



/^c? Semi-Cent cnnial of 

muskets we had harmless wooden gans, and instead of plumes 
on our tall leather hats a curious formation of wool batting — 
we used to hear at the corners of the streets the derisive shouts 
of envious boys, out-siders, " Red broomsticks, fire buckets and 
rams' tails." 

The Utica of old is chiefly noted for the great men who died 
there ; but our modern city for those who have lived and still 
live in it. As an absent native I am proud of this ; but I 
sometimes ask why is it that your distinguished citizens are so 
anxious to get away from their privileges, and betake themselves 
to such dull places as Albany or Washington ; and our best 
lawyers, just as they ripen, will not be pent up any longer, but 
transplant themselves to New York. And I reply, it is that 
spirit of self sacrifice which is cultivated in your borders, but is 
more needed in other regions where wisdom and virtue less 
abound. I cut from yesterday' s Providence Journal an announce- 
ment of a new, large, public park. It is many years now since 
T visited my old home and it is probable that in the midst of 
such a beautiful country an artificial park is not required ; a 
drive like the Commonwealth avenue, Boston, a wide, open 
street, planted on both sides of a walk along the center, and 
leading to one of your pleasant villages around, might be less 
costly and more attractive for residence. I am, dear sir. 

Most truly yours, H. Williams. 

FROM HON. S, WELLS WILLIAMS. 

New Haven, Feb. 27, 1882. 

Egbert S. Williams, Chairman of the Committee of the Oneida 
Historical Society : 

Dear Sir- — It seems to me to be a suitable manner of cele- 
brating the Semi-Centennial Anniversary^ of the city charter, 
and I can do no less than send a short reply to your kind in- 
vitation to join in the symposium. 

When the city charter was granted I was at school in the 
Rensselaer institute at Troy, and never had the opportunity of 
voting at any municipal election. During the fifty years which 
have since passed, I have spent hardly one of them in Utica 
altogether, but the scattered visits have served to revive and 
strengthen the attachments of youth to the town and its citizens. 
I can be now pei'sonally known to comparatively few of the 
latter, but it has been a source of grateful surprise to me, on 
my return there at intervals of twelve or fifteen years, to find 
that I had been kept in memory by so many friends of mv pa- 
rents and brother. 

Out of the fifty years now brought to their close, I have 
spent forty-three years in China, or (with few exceptions,) away 



The City of Utica. i-fg 

from Utica. Dur'mg that period I have been permitted to see 
and aid in one of the greatest improvements of this century 
— the introduction of China and Japan into the family of 
nations. Before this century those populous countries had 
been known rather as vast outlying regions, where untold 
millions of our fellow men lived and died in their own special 
spheres, irrespective of the rest of mankind — somewhat as the 
outlying planets Uranus and Neptune, which had travelled on 
for ages in their remote orbits quite unknown to us, until re- 
cently discovered. 

I arrived in Canton October 25, 1833, and was reported to 
the Chinese authorities, (who took cognizance of all foreigners 
coming to dwell in their land,) asa/rtn kioei^ or "foreign devil," 
who was to reside in the American, or Kwavg-yuen hong. 
Kingqua, its owner, was the special Hong merchant who had 
the oversight and responsibility of my good conduct. As it 
turned out, I never saw my guardian, and the American 
missionaries, four in number, all remained under his nominal 
cognizance as long as he lived. 

The different state of things when last I lett Pekin, October 
25, 1876, will indicate the great changes which had passed 
over the empire in the intervening years. Instead of one port 
where foreign ships of every flag were obliged to trade, thirteen 
were opened. Nine foreign ministers had their legations at 
the capital, instead of their several mercantile consuls at 
Canton, who acted as go-betweens in behalf of their country- 
men and the native officers ; nor could these be induced to re- 
ceive anything directly from the hands of the foreigners 
themselves, while the Hong merchants would accept nothing if 
not drawn up in the form of a petition. 

In November, 1874, the United States minister, Mr. Avery, 
delivered his credentials to the Emperor Tungchi, and I inter- 
preted them and his address to his imperial majesty. The last 
refuge of Chinese supremacy over other nations had been re- 
moved the year before, by the emperor's peacefully yielding the 
point o£ prostration whenever plenipotentiaries from foreign 
lands came into his presence. The last and most important 
change during the period of my residence was the facility 
possessed for travel and missionary labor. At my arrival, the 
land was shut up to foreign travelers for any purpose ; while 
converts in the Protestant mission at Canton numbered only two 
or three under the care of two missionaries. At my departure, 
the work was spreading into each of the eighteen provinces, 
and its legality had been secured and guarded by the sanction of 
treaty. In forty years, from 1838 to 1873, China had been in- 
troduced into the fraternity of nations, where, I hope, she will 
be allowed to stay and exercise her rights. The other govern- 
ments are likely to make her fulfil her duties. 



/J*^ Scnii-Ccnteiinial of 

In the opening of Japan I also had a share. In 1837 I was 
passenger in the American ship Morrison, which was bound to 
Vedo for the purpose of restoring seven shipwrecked Japanese 
to their homes. The vessel was repulsed by four cannon 
brought to bear upon us from the shore, but happily no serious 
damage was received during six hours of firing. After our re- 
turn three of the men were employed in my printing office, and 
I learned in a rather rude fashion, the use of their native 
tongue. In 1853 I was one of Commodore Perry's suite, which 
landed within a short distance of the spot where the four can- 
non had been placed sixteen years before; here, on this oc^ 
casion, we delivered President Fillmore's letter asking "for 
better treatment for American ships than the Morrison had re- 
ceived. During this short visit and the five months that the 
squadron was in those waters the next year, I was able to ex- 
plain much of the purpose of the American expedition to the 
officials and people at the three ports and the Lewchew islands, 
and perhaps remove their fears that its real design was conquest 
or pillage. 

During the half century of your charter, these two ancient 
nations have undergone the most rapid and thorough changes 
which have ever happened to any nation recorded in history — 
changes involving their political, religious, and social life, and 
which are likely to obliterate the action of their former ages. It 
was a great satisfaction to me to have been a close observer of 
and co-worker in these mighty alterations. Most of them 
tended to the elevation and benefit of the two nations 
involved ; and with the political and commercial relations 
established by the treaties of 1858, came also the toleration and 
teaching of the Holy Scriptures among the people in their own 
tongues, thereby giving them valid reasons for the changes pro- 
posed. 

Few of the citizens of Utica who will join in this half 
century commemoration have gone further than I have or 
stayed away longer : yet my love for the old homestead seems to 
grow with increasing years. Three of my former schoolmates 
visited me while abroad in the first twelve years — John T. K. 
Lothrop, Joab Brown and Lieutenant M. Hunt. Out of the 
whole period I spent twenty-two years in the employ of the 
American Board of Missions, and twenty-one in the service of the 
United States ; but my sole aim in all of them was to promote 
the welfare of the Chinese. 

Allow me, in conclusion, to thank you for this opportunity 
of joining in your civic celebration. As I cannot tell you any- 
thing about Utica, I am constrained to say what I do about the 
land of my adoption — speaking with pleasure of the wonder- 
ful advances it has made within the past five decades ; and I 
believe that during the next five, the Governor of the nations, 



The City of Utica. i^i 

whose wisdom and power are now seen, as his promises to the 
land of Sinim are fulfilling, will show even greater things for 
the ancient race of Ham. 

Wishing for my native town all the blessings which will 
promote her true interests, 

I am your fellow-citizen, S. Wells Williams. 



FROM BENJAMIN WRIGHT. 

[telegram.] 

San Francisco, Cal., Feb. 2S, 18S2. 

Robert S. Williams, Chairman Semi- Centennial A?im- 
versa/ 1/ : 

Utica well represented in this city last kissed by the setting 
sun, and her golden gate always open for others to come. 

Benj. Wright, 



The Half Century Club. 

nS ORGANIZATION. 

The approach of the Semi-Centennial Anniversary of 
the charter of Utica as a city suggested to some gen- 
tlemen the propriety of commemorating the accom- 
pHshment of its first half century with becoming ob- 
servance ; and to this end, a meeting was held, at 
which it was resolved to form an organization, to be 
composed of natives of the village of Utica, under 
the name of the Half-Century Club. In the prelimi- 
nary selection of officers, it was decided to name as 
President and Vice Presidents those eligible to mem- 
bership who had held the position of Mayor of Utica, 
giving precedence in the order of oificial seniority. 
Accordingly, the Club was organized with the follow- 
ing ex-Mayorg as officers : 

President. . Hon. Ward Hunt, - 1844. 

Vice Pi^es . .Yioxi. DeWitt C, Grove, i860. 

Hon. James McQuade, 1866. 

Hon. Theo. F. Butterfield, 1872. 

Hon. Charles E. Barnard, 1876. 

No further action was taken towards the furtherance 
of the object for which the Club was initiated beyond 
the enrollment of names of those qualified to become 



I S4 First SiLppcr of the 

members, for which purpose Mr. Eugene Stearns was 
appointed Secretary. 

The Oneida Historical Society having provided for 
a Semi-Centennial Celebration, in the form of a literary 
symposium at the City Opera House, it was proposed 
to supplement this commemoration with a supper, 
after the old fashion, at Bagg's Hotel. To make 
arrangements therefor, a meeting was called at "Bagg's 
Tavern, in Woodmarket Square," (wiiich was the 
original designation of the inn,) on the evening of 
February 25, 1882. 

The meeting was called to order by Mr. John F. 
Seymour, on whose motion General James McQuade 
was chosen Chairman, and Col. Egbert Bagg, Secre- 
tary. After consultation, it was resolved to give a 
supper on the evening of March 2d, 1882, that date 
being selected to avoid interference with the Historical 
Society symposium, to be held on the first day of 
March, the actual anniversary. A motion for the ap- 
pointment of a Committee of Arrangements having 
been adopted, the Chairman appointed the following : 

Benjamin Allen, N. A. White, 

John F. Seymour, Harvey Barnard, 

Egbert Bagg, B. F. Davies, 

Charles H. Sayre, Eugene Stearns, 

Isaac Whiffen, John G. Brown. 

On motion, the Chairman was added to the Com- 
mittee. 

At a meeting of the Committee of Arrangements, 
held the same evening, B. Allen was chosen Chairman, 
E. Bagg, Secretary, and I. Whiffen, Treasurer. 



Half Century Club. i ^^ 

The following sub-committees were appointed : 
Supper — James McOuade, I. Whiffen, B. F. Davies. 
Invitations — Eugene Stearns, C. H. Sayre, J.G.Brown. 

It was resolved to make the organization of the 
Half-Century Club permanent ; to elect officers at the 
supper ; and to enlarge the qualification for member- 
ship by making a residence of fifty years in Utica, 
without regard to nativity, the sole requirement. A 
resolution was adopted designating General James 
McQuade to preside at the supper ; and inviting Rev. 
Dr. A. J. Upson to act as Chaplain, and in the event 
of his inability to be present, substituting the Rev. 
Dr. D. G. Corey to officiate. 



1^6 First Slipper of the 



The Supper. 

The supper was held as appointed, and every seat 
in the dining-room and adjoining ordinary of Bagg's 
Hotel was filled; there were present 

Mayor Miller, ex-Mayors Jawes McQuade, D. C. Grove, 
Theodore F. Butterfield, Miles C. Comstock and Charles E. 
Barnard; the Hon. A. T Goodwin, the Hon. John F. Sey- 
mour, the Hon. John C. Devereux, Recorder Bulger, City 
Clerk McQuade, the Hon. Ellis H. Roberts, Police Commis 
sioners Mcintosh, Flanagan and Davies, Charity Commissione, 
Thomas, School Commissioner SynK^ids, Supervisors Mooney 
and French, Judge R. O. Jones, Justice M. M. Jones, Superin 
tendent McMillan, Count}^ Treasurer Kohler, Col. J. S. Lowery, 
the Rev. Dr. Corey, tlie Hon. W. B. Taylor, Dr. M. M. Bagg, R. 
S. Williams, W. Jerome Green, Maj. D. T. Everts, W. M. 
Storrs, J. G. Brown, Edward Sturges, M. B. DeLong, Albert 
Spencer, Horace W. Fowler, Dr. C. B. Foster, John D. Kernan, 
Harvey Barnard, E. S. Brayton. Benjamin Allen, Isaac Whif- 
fen, B. F. Ray, Joshua W. Church, Moses Bailey, Harold 
Frederic, B. F. Davies, T. R. McQuade, Robert Middleton, W. 
W. Coffin, A. L. Woodruff, Richard U. Owens, Coroner Hunt, 
Lyman B. Adams, William Dunn, William Lent, John W. 
Bates, Henry Hopson, Joseph A. Shearman, John Butterfield- 
E. A. Tallnian, W. H. Scran ton, C. F. Palmer, F. W. Pratt, 
Otto E. C. Guelich. F. M. Kendrick, J. W. Bond, P. F. De 
Lester, John G. Fowler, George Washington Keating, Henry 
Barnard, John H. Davies, E. D. Buckingham, F. W. Hurlburt, 
N. C. Newell, Selden Collins, H. W. McKay, James Ballou, 
Moses Bailey, Thomas J. Griffith, Daniel McGucken, George 
Booth, B. A. Clark, George A. Clark, Alderman Carpenter, 



Half Ccntiiry Club. i^y 

Corporation Counsel Barrows, Kudolph D. Sn3'der, David Hall 
H. ^V. Miller, Eugene Stearns, Charles Downer, Colonel Egbert' 
Bagg, H. D. Pixley, N. F. Pegg, John S. Hill, Col. 0. H. Bal- 
lou, E. Z. Wright. G. L. Bradford, Walter C. North, Cordon 
Hackett, Alfred S. Hubbell. Henry Hubbell, E.V.W. Griffiths, 
John Cummings, Walter I. Martin, Thomas Hollingworth,Wm. 
Heath, George D. Dimon, Kobert McElwaine, W. B. Smith, 
S. C. Davis, Wallace Burt, H. I. Johnson, Theodore P. Ballon, 
Lute W. CaJJerty, John T. Stevens, James Sayre, Samuel 
C. Davis, Dr. J. E. West, James Greenman, George Allen, 
Charles Sayre, John O'Donnell, James H. Howe, J. E. B. Thorn, 
Thomas Crowley, William Dagwell, Thomas Welch, John 
Gray, Edward Clark, James Thompson, William H. Farwell 
Daniel Batchelor, D. L. Vanderheyden, Thomas E. Patterson, 
Chauncey Palmer, William Blaikie, Charles Thome, John 
Springier, J. Burton, P. C. J. DeAngelis, W. W. Fowler, Mor- 
ris Dickinson, Robert Baxter, Moses M. Bailey, Charles Bar 
nard and Thomas B. Howell. Among the participants from 
out of town were Messrs. Brainard and Cooper, of Waterville, 
Clarke, of Yoiikers, Camp, of Sacketts Harbor, Hoadley, of 
Boston, Burt, of Oswego, George W. Pixley, of Fort Wayne, 
Ind., J. T. Brush, of Indianapolis, Ind., and George C. Mason, 
of Lima, Ohio. 

The unique bill of fare was described in the daily 
papers, as follows : 

The bill of fare, designed as a memento of the occasion, was 
much approved. The paper was rough, and the covers were 
illustrated with three old-time wood.cats, one of M. Bagg's 
Tavern in 1832, one representing a stage-coach of Parker's 
famous line, and a third depicting one of Greenman 's equally 
famous canal packets. Inside w^ere the names of the Half- 
Century Committee, Benjamin Allen, Harvey Barnard, Benj. 
F. Davies, N. A. White, John G. Brown, Egbert Bagg, James 
McQuade, Chaides H. Sayre, John F. Seymour, Isaac Whifi'en 
and Eugene Stearns, surmounted by the Yah-nun-dah-sis seal 
of the city. The tempting menu was set forth with many local 



I §8 First SuppC7'- of the 

"hits" of the olden time, and will be generally appreciated 
and enjoyed : 

Oysters on Half Shell. 
(From Clam Perkins'.) 

Puree of Chicken. 
(From King Welch.) 

Broiled Shad. 
(From Herring & Whiting's.) 

Potatoes. 
(From Sergeant John Hasson.) 

Filet of Beef, with Mushrooms. 

(Hugh Crocker's best.) 

Potato Croquets. 

(From Pat. Dixon.) 

Potted Pigeons. 
(Shot on Corn Hill.) 

Roast Spring Lamb, Mint Sauce. 

(From Broadway's.) 

Green Peas, New Potatoes, 

(From John Campbell's.) (From Calvin Steams'.) 

Champagne Punch. 
(By Bobby Barnes,) 

Roast Mallard Duck, Currant Jelly. 

(From John Beston's.) 

Dressed Celery, Lettuce, Olives, 

(From Chauncey Phelps'.) 

Vanilla Ice Cream, Jelly Rolade, 

(Peter Palmer.) (From Wm. Hackett.) 
Bismarck Slices. 

Cocoanut Kisses, Victoria Fingers, 

(From Spurtzell.) (By Miss Derbyshire.) 

Assorted Nuts, Fruits. 

(From Arnold.) (From Wilbur.) 

Coffee. 
(By Mrs. Churchill.) 

The Dressing Room will be in charge of J. Ingalls and D. Saumet. 

"Pizarro" at Dyke's Catharine Street Theatre this evening. 

Before sittinor down to table, grace was said by the 
Rev. Dr. D. G. Corey. 



Half Century Chih. i^g 

Immediately in front of the presiding- officer's chair 
was a magnificent basket of flowers, with the mono- 
gram "M" interwoven with the legend ''1832 — 1882," 
and a card, bearing this inscription: "To General 
James McOuade, the faithful law clerk of my husband 
in days of auld lang syne, with the compliments of 
Mrs. O. B. Matteson." 

After the bill of fare had been discussed with sfreat 
acceptance, General McQuade called the assemblage 
to order, and said : 

I beg leave to thank the Committee of An-aDgements for the 
honor conferred in my selection to preside at this commemora 
tive supper. I feel that I am not entitled to the distinction 
while there are so man}^ here with superior claims, both from 
seniority and greater consequence in the community; and vet 
my somewhat varied experience, which brought me in contact 
with a number of the old residents identified with the early 
history of the city, may afford some ground for the suggestion 
of the appropriateness of choice. It would be mere affectation 
for rae to refrain from expressing my appi'eciation of the beau- 
tiful souvenir before me, recalling as it does a happy period in 
my careless youth when I w^as a law student in the office of 
Matteson & Doolittle. I experienced from Mr, Matteson so 
much thoughtfid and lenient consideration, that I may be par- 
doned, although merely a personal matter, for taking the oppor- 
tunity afforded to acknowledge an old-time obligation, which is 
recalled to memory like the perfume of some long-faded flower, 
freshened and vivified by the scent of the newly-blown roses 
before me. 

And I am reminded, too, that Mr. Matteson, who lias occu- 
pied a prominent place as a citizen, and held high public posi. 
tions, is now the sole survivor of the city officers of 1832. In 
that year he served as C\ij Attorney, and there is not living a 
member of the Common Council or a city officer who was asso- 
ciated with him. He is, I believe, the only resident of Genesee 



i6o First Supper of the 

street who lives in the same place he occupied when the city 
was chartered, fifty years ago. 

As we are in a gossiping mood, and disposed to the pla^-ful 
vein rather than the serioas and solemn, it is permissible for 
one to talk about himself and his neighbors without becoming- 
amenable to the charge of egotism. We come here to talk 
cheerfully about the old times, and to enrich this feast with 
tender recollections of the old friends who occupy no chairs at 
the table to-night, but who are present in our hearts. 

I did not become deeply versed in the profundities of legal 
knowledge whilst in the office of Matteson & Doolittle. It was 
'"in my salad days when I was green in judgment," and, unfor- 
tunately, the corner window I occupied was a "coigne of van- 
tage" which commanded a clear view of the fashionable crossing 
at the corner of Broad and Genesee streets, where the fickle eye 
was allured from the perusal of must}- Blackstone, Kent and 
Chitty, to the critical contemplation of glowing beauty, en 
promenade. I suppose I may as well admit, m the words of 
the poet : 

"Though wisdom oft has sought me, 
I scorned the lore she brought me. 

My onl)' books 

Were woman's looks, 
And folly 's all they've taught me." 

It was while floating idly along in the plain sailing of Indeb- 
itatus assumpsit., or getting involved in the tortuous channels of 
Cestui que trusty that a financial avocation, growing out of the 
business of the office, and connected with the adventurous mer- 
chant and manufacturer, Frederick Hollister, brought me into 
intimate relations with the late A. B. Johnson, who, then and 
afterwards, manifested much interest in my welfare, both in 
private life and public station, giving me the benefit of wise 
counsels and unvarying friendship and support. Mr. Johnson, 
it is hardly necessary to say, was a man of varied attainments, 
of inflexible integrity and, though inexorably just and judi- 
ciously discriminating, of a kindly disposition. 

Before entering the office referred to, I was for a time a stu- 
dent with the famous firm of Spencer & Kernan. Joshua A 
Spencer will always be regarded as one of the greatest advo- 
cates of his day, and Senator Kernan has added to a reputation 



Half Ccntiiry Chib. i6i 

for forensic ability the lustre of able, prudent and unsullied 
statesmanship. lu the course of my revolutions as a rolling 
stone, I became an officer in the old Bank of Utica, on Whites- 
boro street, when W. B. Welles was Cashier, R. H. Shearman, 
Teller; Thomas Colling, Bookkeeper; and T. C. B. Knowlson, 
Clerk. Upon those halcyon days of banking I often look 
back with a sigh of regret, like one who has left the cool re- 
treat of some sequestered nook, where he was lulled to repose 
by soothing murmurs, to encounter the heat and dust of an 
arid plain, amid the glare and turmoil of unremitting business 
activity. There was an air of imperturbability about this dig- 
nified institution, a placidity of demeanor, in marked contrast 
with the commonplace bustle which pervades the banking 
offices of this utilitarian period. Yet we were, to some extent, 
fast even then. The bank clock was ten minutes ahead of the 
town clock, so we opened the bank for business by city time 
and closed it by bank time ; following Charles Lamb's exam- 
ple, who made up for reaching his office late in the morning 
by leaving early in the afternoon. 

These names, so familiar to the older residents, are not par- 
aded here for the purpose of demonstrating that at an early 
day I was thrown into the good society of m}^ elders, but are 
recapitulated by way of an apology for the action of the Com- 
mittee in designating me to preside at this notable symposium. 
While my own merit would not accord me the position, I de- 
rive, from close association with these honored pioneers of Utica, 
some reminiscent claim to be regarded as not altogether out of 
place. I serve as a sort of connecting link with the past, and 
as the shades of those who have left us are evoked in the course 
of these garrulous remarks, I present a shadowy title to the 
chair which I fill with a too substantial presence. 

Appropriately are we assembled here in Semi-Centennial ob- 
servance. This is a festal hallowed ground. This is the re- 
nowned hostelry, which has stood for over three-quarters of a 
century, a monument of bountiful hospitality, enwreathed with 
]oyous memories, reaching back beyond the personal recollec- 
tion of any present to-night, but preserved as cherished tradi- ■ 
tions. This venerable landmark, which, like some slender sap- 
ling, planted long ago by careful hands in congenial soil, has 
thrived and expanded into a wide-spreading tree, capable of 

L 



1 62 First Siippei' of the 

affording shelter to numerous guests, is a fit place for the estab- 
lishment of those who are gathered lo emphasize an important 
event in the history of Utica. These walls have resounded 
with many a sound of revelry, these rafters have rung with 
shouts of merriment, aroused by the song and story, the quip 
and jest, of our jovial ancestors, who entered into enjoyment 
with a zest and fervor unknown in these colder-blooded days 
of pseudonymous propriety. The exuberant spirits of those 
hearty men often found vent in unrestrained mirthfulness and 
abandon which would grate harshly on the fastidious ear of 
this generation ; but they were honest, true hearted gentlemen, 
who lived cleanly lives, and scorned cant, hypocrisy and pre- 
tense. The man who had the respect of the community then 
was one who deserved it for his good qualities. He was just, 
sincere and truthful, performing his duty in the pursuit of 
peaceful vocations with knightly courage and honor. 

'The knight's bones are dust, 

And his good sword rust ; 

His soul is with the saints, I trust." 

But I shall not engross your attention by extending any 
further this lengthy apology for my appearance as presiding 
officer, but wnll call upon my friend, Mr. John F. Seymour, 
who bears a beloved name. " familiar as household words'' in 
Utica, and illustrious everywhere, to speak for the "old resi- 
dents of Utica." 

Mr. Seymour said : 

I thank you, Mr. Chairman, for the compliment you pay to 
the name of Seymour, and I regret that the ekler brother is not 
here to make suitable I'esponse. It is a great pleasure to have 
the name associated with the history of Utica, one of the best 
cities in the world. " A city set upon a hill, from whence it 
overlooks the bright fields which in summer stand dressed in 
living green beyond the swelling flood" of the Mohawk, while 
the river, its banks crowned with elms and willows and golden 
rods, flows in graceful curves from one side of the valley to the 
other, as if it would prolong its stay bj^ all manner of ex- 
cuses. 

The school days of "us boys" were mostly passed at Bartlett's 
High School in East Utica, which commanded a view of that 
part of the valley towards the east which was our daily admir- 
.ation, and here I met Uridge Whiff en, a brother of our fellow 



Half Century Club. i6j 

citizen, Mr. Isaac Whitfen, and my teacher in Greek and Latin. 
He was a fine scholar and a good boxer. He drilled me with 
Greek and Latin during school hours, and pounded me with 
boxing gloves out of hours, but gradually I learned to get in 
blows which made me happy, and fitted me for the brushes of 
out-door college life, and if I did not learn much of Greek and 
Latin it was not his fault. 

The friendship formed with Mr. Whiiien was for life, and I 
am glad that I have this opportunity to pay tribute to the 
memory of one whose purity and single hearted ness and schol- 
arly attainments won for him the respect and affection of his 
pupils. At this school was also Professor Fay Edgerton, from 
Bennington, Vermont, who taught us Botany, Chemistry and 
Mineralogy, and walked with us from Troy to the White Moun- 
tains with knapsacks on our backs, gathering minerals by the 
way, and health and strength for the journey of life. By us I 
mean Professor James D. Dana, Professor S. Wells Williams, 
Judge Alexander S. Johnson, Dr. M. M. Bagg, Matthew Bagg, 
James L. Butler, William Snyder, Edward P. Handy, George 
Bemis and others ; boys then, bat old men now, such as sur- 
vive, with warm hearts under frosted heads, and with fresh and 
happy recollections of a journey, the memory of which has 
been a life long pleasure. 

Professor Edgerton shared in the affections of the boys wiih 
Mr. Whiffen by making us his companions. There are some 
here to-night who are engaged in the noble work of teaching, 
whose hearts may sometimes fail them because their pupils are 
wayward or thoughtless, let them always remember that in due 
time they will reap a harvest of gratitude provided they do not 
faint in the work. 

It was my intention to tell you about two beautiful residences 
and large grounds with trees which were once on the east side 
of Genesee street, just below the Johnson place, opposite the 
City Hall and the block below, one being the home of Arthur 
Breese, and the other that of Jeremiah Van Rensselaer, but I 
see here ray old schoolmate who, when we were boys, beat me 
in running a race down Genesee street. As he was the winner 
then he is entitled to the course now, and 1 introduce him to 
you as Thomas Allen Clarke, a son of Captain William Clarke, 
one of the most energetic of the early settlers of Utica. 

Mr. Thos. Allen Clarke said substantially as fol- 
lows : 

This concession of my friend Mr. Seymour is but one of the 
many kindnesses I have experienced from him. In the races 
to which he has referred, the short ones I may have won, but 



1 6^ First Supper of the 

in the long he was victor. I was but a quarter horse, he 
had the staying qualities of a four-miler ; but in the long race 
of over sixty years, in friendship we have been side by side. 
Better would it be for him to continue to-night his recital. I 
have, what with the boy's ramble last night, and the fuller re- 
ports in the papers of to-day, occupied enough of 3'our time. 

Many of those before me are my boyhood friends, and mau}^ 
names that have been mentioned recall memories of their 
fathers. Immediately before me is my friend, Mr. Ballou, of 
one of the earliest and most esteemed families. I see Mr. Shear- 
man's familiar face which reminds me of three homes in which 
the noisy plays of, I fear, rather rude boys were encouraged, 
certainly very mildly checked. M}" boyhood friend. Mr. 
Grannis, looks just as he did long years ago. He " stood by 
the staff," and so the Baggs, Williams and Sewards. But I 
must not call the roll of the village. 1 have been repeatedly 
asked to day, "Did you know my father?" I tave been 
happy to say invariably, yes, with some recital of circum- 
stance. I doubt not that I could give like answer to inquiries 
from such as you. By my side is my young, gallant and 
humorous friend, who reminds me of his father, Michael Mc- 
Quade, with all his genial qualities, and who, the last time I 
was here, gave me for an hour his interesting reminiscences. 
When I used the word "gallant," just now, the Citizens' Corps 
and its history sprang up before me. Men, possessed of the 
courage of their convictions, who have been generously re- 
warded with the honors of fame. Toward this Corps which 
had been recently organized when I left for my Southern 
home I have had a feeling of tenderness since I was told by 
my friend, Morris Miller, far away from here, of the honors done 
by them to one inexpressibly dear to me. I was happy, to-day, 
to meet the commander on that occasion and to find him the 
son of my long-time friend, Thomas Davies, who closed here 
recently his long and useful life. 

This ancient hostelry in which we meet has historic associa- 
tions. In this room the great men of the state have been en- 
tertained. LaFayette dined here. Gouverneur Morris, Tomp- 
kins, DeWitt Clinton, John Wells, Emmett, Butler, Burr, 
Foote, Marcy, Young, and all who grace the early annals of the 
state, sat at this board gracefully presided over by Mrs. Bagg. 
Her coffee was famed for its delicious flavor. Her plans of 
benevolence were formed and discussed, and in the hall above 
the beauty and grace of the state have " tripped on light fan- 
tastic toe." 

A Virginia friend told me, years ago, that in England and 
on the continent he had heard so much of the enjoyments of 
this country house, that he determined to visit it on his return 
before going to Virginia. He came from New York then, in 



Half Century Chib. i6^ 

point of time, seven-fold the distance of to-day. His antici- 
pations were realized. Virginia did not furnish a parallel. 
This is high praise, as you know a Virginian never yields the 
palm for anything, whether quadruped or biped, from the blood 
of her renowned Sir Archy, to that of his "first families." 

With all the staidness of the early population the village was 
enlivened by humorists of whom Hackett was facile jyrinGejps^ 
having good foils in Ephraim Hart, Joseph Porter, Mont- 
gomery Hunt and a numerous circle of our Irish friends, to 
name whom would be to call up all the sunny faces of that 
race. Practical jokers there were. One of their pranks will 
amuse you, as it had a good end and may serve as a useful 
precedent. A tramp was employed, at extravagant wages, to 
stand all day at the junction of the four streets on the square 
just before us to serve as a guide board. For an hour he was 
quizzed by all sorts of questions by the wags following each other 
in vapid succession, until, exhausted, he incontinently fled the 
village, without wages, a wiser if not a better man. 

The old bell of the village was an institution. It awoke 
sleepers in the morning, bid to breakfast and dinner, bade the 
toiler cease work at six and go to bed at nine, announced lost 
children. Besides its Sunday calls to worship, it admonished 
the departure from earth of each soul by tolling the age. On 
the Fourth of July its tones were jubilant. We all had an 
affection for the old bell. Its tones often sounded in the ear 
of memory to me in my distant home. Ah ! the wail of its 
last notes to many hearts, when by ruthless hands precipitated 
from its high place. 

You have reason to be proud of the conservative character 
of your population. Notably of your financial institutions. 
Esto peryetua. 

Since I came here I have heard some whisperings that in 
prosperity the cit}^ is not advancing, especially as indicated by 
a not proportionate increase of population. As I have passed 
through your streets I have witnessed no evidence of decay, 
unless more splendid habitations, art galleries, lofty manufac- 
tories and a degi'ce of luxury unknown to your fathers is an 
evidence of decline. There is a marvelous contrast with the 
appearances of a half century ago, in the equipment for business 
and for home dwelling. 

I suppose if inquiries were carefully made, many of you 
would be found to have followed Faxton and others, sending 
out your surplus capital and expending your energies to de- 
velope the resources of the continent. In early days I remem- 
ber it was said of Samuel Stocking that he was the richest man 
in the town, his fortune estimated at $40,000 : that he pressed 
his business at home to its capacity, built houses and stores and 
had a surplus of capital and credit enough with Astor to de- 



i66 Fii'st Siippei' of the 

velope the fur trade of the north west, thus adding to his own 
and to the town's prosperity. 

A village certainly affords in many respects advantages for 
individual discipline and growth — a closer contact of man with 
man, or rather boy with boy, more equahty of intercourse, 
more activity by friction, life more transparent, interest for one 
another increased by interaction, more sympathetic, and the 
whole pride kept alive in and for the progress of its sons ; while 
the city has perhaps greater advantages in presenting broader 
views and smoothing off tendencies to provincialism. But I 
am running into philosophy. 

I hope that fifty years hence those who meet at this board 
may have pride in the review of the intervening years, fully 
equal to that you have to-night in the record of the past. 

May peace, prosperity and happiness attend you and yours. 

The Chairman said that benefit of clergy was a boon ordinar- 
ily called for at a late stage, but in the apparent healthiness of 
this entertainment he would not regard the ministration as a 
necessity, but would give the cloth the precedence to which it 
was entitled by merit. He asked Rev. Dr. Corey to respond 
for the clergy ; which the latter briefly complied with. 

At the conclusion of his remarks, the Chairman said that 
among the three learned professions, law, physic and divinity, 
the legal, with characteristic audacity, put itself foremost. In 
giving precedence to divinity, he had, no doubt, incurred severe 
pains and penalties which he would suffer were he ever so weak 
as to become enmeshed in the toils of litigation. But everyone 
must take risks in the stern and faithful performance of duty. 
There could be something good said even of lawyers (by them- 
selves) and he would call upon Mr. John D. Kernan, worthy 
representative of the firm which is the lineal descendant and 
residuary legatee of the fame of Spencer & Kernan, to plead in 
mitigation for being retained here without a fee. 

Mr. Kernan said : 

I am exceedingly gratified, Mr. Chairman, on behalf of the 
legal fraternity for your just recognition of the intimate rela- 
tion that exists between theology and law, between clergymen 
and lawyers ! Indeed lawyers have rather the advantage in 
the comparison, because while our clerical friends " preach the 
law.'' lawyers, as is well known, •'■ jJractice it.'' 

It is the fashion of these semi-centennial days to picture the 
wealth of intellect, the integrity and earnestness of purpose, and 



Half Century Club. i6j 

the great success of the lawyers of an early day in their forensic 
struggles. I am not disposed to pursue the theme in that as- 
pect" We lawyers of the present generation feel that in this 
there is evident'malice towards us, on the part of the seniors of 
the profession, many of whom here present were partakers in 
that early glory. To demonstrate how small we are, by pic- 
turing how great they'were, is to us damnum^ though perhaps 
absque injuria. 

That branch of the subject to which I would briefly call youi- 
attention would be properly entitled thus : 

IN ANY COURT. 



In the Matter 

OF 

Costs and Disbursements. 



This important branch of legal practice has always been 
much neglected by lawyers ! 

The ancient lawyer, like unto us of the present day, lost in 
anxiety for the success of his client, striving for fame and seek- 
ing 1;o gather in the approbation of his conscience rather than 
pelf, often overlooked this little matter of costs and disburse- 
ments. They came to him rather as votive offerings than as 
exactions ! His mission was mainly benevolence ; the discour- 
agement of litigation ; the calming of neighborhood passions ; 
the untangling of limitless pleadings and decisis stare I I ought 
to state perhaps that I am presenting the professional view of 
this question rather than the unanimous verdict of clients. 

At an early day, when the client had reached red heat and 
was determined to law his neighbor about a line fence through 
a stump lot, he came to one of these distinguished ancient 
practitioners from across the Deerfield hills, with his retainer 
loaded on a bob-sled, in the shape of cord wood. As the suit 
progressed he plied the lawyer with refreshers^ such as dried 
apples, butternuts, calf skins and second-hand buggies. They 
were all received and duly credited towards costs and disburse- 
ments. The cellar and backyard of the lawyer, holding many 
briefs, groaned with costs and disbursements paid in kind. At 
the end of the litigation professional etiquette required the law- 
yer to take the balance of the farm. I owe my own introduc- 
tion to active practice in justice's court to a practitioner of the 
early bar. Judge William H. Pratt. My first earnest effort was 
in a" calf suit at Dee> field Corners, as associate counsel with 
Judge Pratt. I plunged the jury into much law. Notwith- 
standing my efforts to thus distract them from the merits, they 
emerged under Judge Pratt's guidance with a verdict for our 
side. I remember this suit particularly, because true to the 
early traditions which there cling, the client paid entirely in 
kind ; corn was the kind in that case — corn in the juice at 



i6S First Sttppcr of the 

that ! I desire to say to my own credit as a precocious collec- 
tor that the Judge had great difficulty in obtaining his fair 
share of the counsel fee. To dilate further would be to en- 
croach upon the five-minute rule. This opportunity to give 
outsiders a word of advice free ought not to be lost however. 
The courts are open ; the lawyers are ready. Permit no tri- 
fling with your rights ! Stand up like men and repel every 
menace. Take no law in your own hands, but take it at the 
bands of lawyers ! Be Machiavelian in your policy, and in 
peace prepare for war ! Let those not already engaged in liti- 
gation seek and retain lawyers that their lamps may be trim- 
med when the chance to litigate comes. My legal brethren 
will I'ecognize the millenium that lies concealed in this advice. 
To trim a client before suit provokes pleasant sensations. 
Allow me. sir, to say. but a word in seriousness. In the begin- 
ning of this century Utica held Courts for the State. To her 
Terms there came Hamilton, Burr, Hofi'man, Talcott and the 
■distinguished lawyers of the country. Here their wit flashed 
and their learning sowed seed, which blossomed and ripened 
into a generation of lawyers, who were very able as practitioners 
and irreproachable and profound as judges, who, as statesmen, 
have made the name of Utica a household word in the land. 

In proposing a toast to the medical profession, the Ciiairman 
said that it was not alone in his character of physician, but as 
the industrious historiographer of Utica, that he would call 
upon Dr. M. M. Bagg to respond. To Dr. Bagg's patient, 
painstaking research, which collected the facts, and his facile 
pen, which embellished them with literary graces, we were in- 
debted for a vivid picture, replete with graphic individualiz- 
ations, and accurate presentments of the traits and peculiarities 
of primitive Utica. 

Dr. Bao^o- said : 

I have been asked to speak of the former doctors of Utica. 
There have been many of them. To speak of a few only 
might be invidious; to introduce them all, in the brief space 
of time allotted me. would be but to give a mere catalogue of 
names. Many of them I have elsewhere discoursed on. Be- 
sides, I have observed that the laity have their partialities about 
doctors ; they like well enough to hear about their own, but are 
indifferent to the profession at large. The place where we are 
seated suggests other themes on which I can be more unre- 
stricted and less in danger of repeating myself. I prefer to re- 
late a few incidents of which I am reminded by the house that 
now harbors us. 



Half Century Club. i6g 

Let us go back in imagination to the close of the last century 
or the very beginning of this one, when the oldest semi-centen- 
narian of us all was yet unborn, and picture to ourselves a 
plain, two-storied, wooden building that stood on the corner of 
the site of this one. It is a commonplace country tavern, as 
humble in appearance and surroundings as any that can be 
met with on a retired country road. Its landlord is a plain, 
though intelligent and amiable man, of an accommodating tem- 
per, fond of humor and endowed with a fair share of sense and 
shrewdness. Next to his house on the north there lived a 
blacksmith, their grounds adjoining in the rear and separated 
by a fence, which, if not of brush, was not much better in struc- 
ture. This blacksmith was a good enough neighbor in the 
main, but if he thought himself aggrieved disposed to make 
trouble. Looking out in front, one day, the landlord saw this 
neighbor driving off some swine which he knew were his own, 
and whose place was in the rear of his yard. "'Where are you 
driving my hogs?" said he. " To the pound,'' was the answer. 
" Oh ! no, neighbor Hobby, you wouldn't drive my hogs to the 
pound, would you ?" " They have been trespassing on my 
grounds, and I mean they shall be shut up." " Leave them to 
me and I will see that they trespass on you no more." " No ! 
I mean they shall go to the pound." Finding persuasion use- 
less, our landlord returned to the bar-room and hastily filling a 
measure with oats or meal from a bin that was near at hand, he 
reappeared outside, and giving the pigs a sni£f of the appetizing 
fodder, he soon coaxed them awaj^ from the irate Hobby and 
back into the cover of his own premises. The incident I 
relate, not so much to characterize the men of whom it treats, 
as because it reveals the simplicity of those early days, when 
provender for beasts was kept in proximity with the bar room, 
when alongside of the tavern-keeper was a blacksmith, their 
backyards being separated merely by a fence so frail that hogs 
could make their way through it. Another fact in illustration 
of the difference between the Bagg's Hotel of that day and this : 
This landlord had a saddle-horse which he often let on liverv, 
and which was a general favorite with the villagers, by reason 
of its sagacity and gentleness as well as its other good qualities 
as a horse for riding. When the party hiring him came back 
from his ride, he had only to turn the horse loose and it was 
sure to find its way to the stable, for every one knew Saladin, 
and no one would interfere with his movements. Li sooth, 
those were primitive times in Utica, which incidents like these 
best enable us to realize. 

This wooden tavern stood until the beginning of the war of 
1812. So small was it that when the first Board of Canal 
Commissioners visited the place in the course of their prelimin- 
ary survey, in 1810, two of them, Messrs. Stephen Van Reus- 



7/0 First Stepper of the 

salaer and Gouverneur Morris, with their attendants, occupied 
so much of the room that the rest, who arrived later by the 
Mohawk, were forced to go to the York House for quarters. 
In 1812-15, Moses Bagg, Jr., who had succeeded his father in 
1808, removed the wooden structure and put up on its site the 
corner portion of the present brick one. This he conducted 
until 1825, when having prepared a home for his family on 
Broad street, he rented the tavern for three years to Abraham 
Shepard, of New London, Conn. Mr. Shepard was followed 
by Alfred Churchill, of Otsego county, brother-in-law of Mr. 
Bagg, who kept it in company with the latter until 1835, and 
left it to manage a temperance house, newly built on the west 
side of Genesee below Broad street, being succeeded, for a 
single year, in the hotel by a man named Ottey, from Canada. 
A strip was ere this time added on the north. In 1836 the 
hotel was sold to a compan}^, of which Mr. Churchill was one, 
— the purchase including also the Bleecker House, the large 
structure adjoining on the north, built by one of the Bleecker 
family of Albany, and opened by Ransom Curtiss. The din- 
ing-room wing on the east having been added by this company, 
the whole was now incorporated under the charge of Mr. 
Churchill, who eventually bought out his associates and con- 
tinued to run it until his death in 1865. His successors have 
been in turn James A. Southworth, and since the fall of 18t)9 
Thomas R. Proctor, the present incumbent. Here then we 
have a continuous series of landlords from the settler of 1794, 
who welcomed guests in the log-house wherein at first he dwelt, 
and erected afterwards the scarcely less humble structure I 
have above described, to the present proprietor of this and two 
vast establishments beside. 

So much for the keepers of the house. But what of the 
kept ? What guests it has sheltered — how man}' and who — in 
the course of its lengthened career, it were in vain to endeavor 
to tell. Nearly all who, ere the days of the canal and the rail- 
way, would make their way through Central New York, 
whether moving by stage or by boats on the Mohawk, must 
needs stop in Utica, and where so natural a place for refresh- 
ment and sleep as the stage-house by the river. As the chief 
resting-place onhhis great highway of intercourse, it must have 
received and entertained not only the most of the tourists from 
Europe and the eastern parts of our own country, but no small 
portion of the frontier settlers of New York, Ohio, Illinois and 
the neighboring States. It has entertained them on their jour- 
ney outward, and it has entertained them on their business 
trips to the metropolis. If other houses were good, this was 
the most convenient one, an advantage it has held ever since, 
despite the changed means of conveyance, while in comfort and 
fare it was the equal of any. 



Half CentiLry Club. lyr 

These flying visitors of all ranks, professions and degrees of 
distinction, I should essay in vain to enumerate, for though I 
might name a few of the notable ones, very many of conse- 
quence must of needs be forgotten. Some who have been 
longer participants of the hospitalities of the house ma}* be 
briefly alluded to, as the Commissioners who had in hand the 
construction of the Erie Canal, and who often journeyed to and 
fro in the course of their duties, the judges and lawyers of the 
Supreme Court of the State, who were every year quartered 
here for wrecks at a time, and the old-time citizen-boarders. 

Of one of these commissioners, the brilliant and versatile 
Morris, we are told that he showed himself while here to be a 
lover of good things to eat, and not only a lover but an adept 
also in their making, and that more than once he has descend- 
ed to the kitchen and instructed the cook in his method of pre- 
paring some savory viand. In this, by the way, he rivalled the 
American Bonapartes, who, when they tarried a few days while 
on their course to visit Le Ray de Chaumont. brought their 
own cook along. The honey of Oneida Mr. Morris specially 
prized, and ordered a hive every year for consumption at home. 

The learned and stately bar of former times others remember 
better than I do. Indeed you have already been told of those 
dignified processions from the hotel to the Court House, when 
led by some such princely-bearing Sheriff as James S. Kip or 
John E. Hinman, with drawn sword at his shoulder, there set 
forth Judges Van Ness, Yates, Piatt or Thompson, or Nelson, 
Bronson and Cowan, followed by Burr, Hoffman, Van Buren, 
Oakley, Ogden, Williams, Wells, Henry, Storrs, Talcott or 
others, awing all beholders by their august presence and the 
gravity of their state and functions. These sights I have heard 
of but do not recall, since during court sessions the children of 
the household were condemned to Coventry, to bide with coun- 
try cousins or friends. Tradition has told me of Aaron Burr 
that he never slept without a lighted candle at his bedside, and 
that once when, at 4 o'clock, his relay was exhausted, he ap- 
peared below stairs in his night gown, in quest of another, and 
startled the cook who was busy at pie-making. 

Among the boarders of shorter or of lonD;er continuance I 
might speak of Dunlap ai J Ionian, the painters, of the earlier and 
the later Freeman ; of Col. Nelson and Major Barnum, U. S. 
A., the latter the organizer of our Citizens' Corps, and of that 
other captain so universally known as a shot that he had only 
to raise his gun to an aim when the coon would cry out, "don't 
shoot, Captain Scott, and I will come do^^i ;" of the courtly 
Major Satterlee Clark, the Paymaster, and his polished wife, 
who had a home in the house until they went to occupy the 
Van Renssalaer Mansion on the hill, and the contemporaneous 
inmates, James H, Hackett, the merchant-actor, his wife, and 



IJ2 First Slipper of tJic 

Mrs. Sharpe, sister of the latter, and like Mrs. Clark, a skillful 
pianist and singer, pending whose stay there was small lack of 
music and of merriment to enliven the place; of Col. Combe and 
wife and the accomplished family of James Lynch, domiciled 
here while their subsequent homes w^ere in preparation — Col. 
Combe, officer of the first Napoleon, who returned to France 
on the accession of Louis Phillippe and w^as killed at Perpig- 
nan at the head of his regiment, his wife the daughter of our 
own Col. Benjamin Walker ; James Lynch, afterwards Judge 
of the Marine Court of New York, and his daughters inter- 
linked with widely different circles ; of the Gray family, one of 
whom was married in the hotel to Alexander W. Bradford, of 
New York ; of the Tiffanys, who something later, received 
wath courtesy, at Hamilton in Canada, the directors of the 
Oneida Bank, drawn thither in pursuit of Harvey, the robber 
of their funds ; of the testy, fitful Charles Brodhead, the in- 
telligent, well-bred William B. Welles, and the self-conserved, 
soi-disant genteel Matthew Talcott, three long tenants of the 
house ; of M. Yicat and Charles de Ferriere. true samples of 
the old regime of France ; of the flighty Bainbridge, " nephew 
of the commodore," and the ponderous Alvan Stewart, ^^horealis 
lux" of the anti-slaver}^ sentiment of the neighborhood ; of David 
Wager and Charles A. Mann ; of Cattell and Camp and Root ; 
of Hart, Edmonds, Doolittle, Kernan, Barret, Marsh, Butler 
and the jolly fellows of more recent date. 

The house has witnessed many births, many deaths and no 
small number of marriages. It stood sponsor at the christening 
of Utica, and has noted its measured growth from a hamlet of 
one or two hundreds to a rank with the first fifty cities of the 
Union. It was the clustering point of its early business, the 
trysting place of its news loving towns-folk, the scene of not a 
few of its festive gatherings. A contemporaiy of the rough 
boatmen of the Mohawk, it has seen the struggles of runners 
for the packets and the stages ; it has heard, and resounds to 
this day with the battle cry of porters, besieging the outflow 
from the railroads. It welcomed, on its right hand, the first 
locomotive from the east, on its left the electric wire that joined 
us more closely with the west, and again it rejoiced with the 
assemblage in the square when they met to triumph in the 
newly-laid cable to Europe. It has been worked into a scene 
of one of Miss Leslie's novels, and it was the study where the 
eloquent Bethune penned a few of his youthful sermons. 
Within it, was devised the first society to advance the agricul- 
tural good of the county, and here are now held the weekly 
sessions of the Board of Trade of Central New York. It aided 
in the honors rendered to LaFayette and to Kossuth, to Clin- 
ton and to Peters, to Webster and to Clay. It has been the 
headquarters of multifarious conventions, and it has looked out 



Half Ccnhiry Club. ijj 

upon a variety of civic assemblies gathered for purposes of pub- 
lic interest or display. It has, in fact, a history hardly equalled 
in length or exceeded in detail by any hotel in the country. 
To passing travellers it is all of Utica the most of them know 
of ; for ourselves, though but a point on our borders, it has a 
claim to regard unsurpassed by any building in our midst. 
Long may it continue to stand — to outsiders an attractive type 
of the hospitality of the city, to citizens themselves a cherished 
link between the present and the past ! 

The chairman said that, while Utica was renowned for 
statesmen, politicians and men of affairs, and, indeed, gave 
just cause for the popular complaint against a monopoly of- 
public honors, the city was indebted in a great measure for this 
preeminence to the press, which no where had abler conductors. 
He called upon an editor, who occupied a foremost place in the 
profession of letters, Hon. Ellis H. Roberts, to respond for the 
press. 

Mr. Roberts said : 

These half centur}^ reminiscences make one feel old. It is 
not so long ago when we all thought that a man of fifty ought 
to be buymg a cofhn, and yet all this circle of boys of half a 
century look and act as though they had in them life enough 
for twice as long a period of enjoyment in the future. I may 
as well confess that my connection with the press began just 
about half a century ago. It must be about that date that I 
was sent to the Lancastrian school on Catharine street, just 
where our friend Delong's furniture store now is. The teacher 
was Eliasaph Dorchester, who had been an editor of the Cohnn- 
hian Gazette, one of the sources of the present Utica Morning 
Herald^ as he was also the founder of the Utica Observer. He 
was easy-going as a teacher then and afterwards, but occasion- 
ally pranks would arouse him to practical protest. Was it 
prophetic that his ferule was applied with such vigor as to give 
me my first serious introduction to the press, and to suggest as 
Saxe tells of, an irate mother : 

" If the boy had been a tub, 
She'd knocked the bottom out?" 

One of the pioneers in the newspaper enterprise in Utica, was 
brought so early and emphatically into the sphere of my ex 
perience. 

I count it one of the determining iirfluences of my life that I 
was early taken into the office of William Williams, where my 
brother was employed and where he was in the later years of 
that establishment the foreman. My memory is very distinct 



77-/ First Slipper of the 

that on more than one occasion, upon an imposing stone now 
m my own office, I folded copies of the Elucidator. The 
•chronicles show that that journal ceased to exist in 1834, so 
that my service must have been rendered before my seventh 
year, and it was doubtless brief and perhaps incidental, al- 
thougli it remains as so vivid a memory with me. 

When I began to frequent the office of Mr. Williams the 
traditions were fresh of S. Wells Williams, of North, of Samp- 
son and of Webster, who had gone forth as missionaries, and 
of Everest, of George S. Wilson, of Shepard, of Frederick S. 
Winston, of Henry Ivison, and others, who had been connected 
with the business in one capacity and another, and most of 
them as printers or binders. The}' had left a halo about the 
old stands and cases which served for an inspiration to those 
who came after ; they had left proof that a printer's apprentice 
or clerk, or a book-binder, might rise to high service for 
humanity, and might rival those of any class in the career of 
usefulness. After such a brotherhood it was my good fortune 
to be enrolled among those who became connected with the 
printing-office of William Williams, and I was probablj' the 
last person ever emploj'ed by him in his printing-office, for 
part of my early labors were to assist as a little lad might do, 
in closing up his affairs. 

Into that office came in those early days Ira Merrell, then a 
venerable man, full of instructive talk and skillful as a printer. 
He had learned his trade with William McLean, who, in 1793, 
started the Whitestown Gazette, origin of the present Zhica 
Morning Herald. Mr. Merrell had been himself a publisher, 
and the typographic art in Utica owed much to him. Not in 
that office, but revered in my boyhood, was Thomas Walker, 
who. in 1799, started the Cokimbian Patriotic Gazette m Rome, 
and four years later removed it to Utica. To secure facilities 
for circulating his paper to the northward, he organized post 
routes into Lewis and Jefferson counties, and with such enter- 
prise and rare intelligence he served his generation. Mr. 
Walker was modest to a fault, was accurate and systematic and 
successful in business, and full of public spirit. Many were 
the kindly words which he addressed to me, as doubtless to 
other lads within his circle. Courteous gentleman and worthy 
oitizen, the influence he exerted on the press and on the com- 
munity was beneficent and beautiful. 

Rufus Northway was an apprentice of Ira Merrell and had 
learned his trade two years before I was born. To my memory 
he rises as the equable, patient, plodding publisher of the 
Oneida Whig, goaded by competition into starting the Utica 
Daily Gazette. He had the toil of journalism without many of 
its rewards. A printer rather than an editor, something of a 
politician in his way, and too cautious to win prominence on a 



Half Centuiy Club. ly^ 

large field, perhaps he did as well as any one could the initial 
work essential to successful daily journalism in Utica. 

Dolphus Skinner was a notable figure here when we were 
boys ; editor as well as clergyman, and a man of mark in any 
capacity, as he proved often by stepping aside from both voca- 
tions and winning laurels as a sound and convincing speaker 
on the political rostrum. Nor could one fail to be impressed 
with the courtly appearance and the impressive bearing of A. 
M. Beebe, editor of the Baptist Regider, printed by Bennett & 
Bright. He was a type of scholarship and fidelity to his voca- 
tion worthy to be studied in these days. Eev. Dr. Rudd, too, 
although to me hardly more than the shadow of a name, we 
all recall and connect him in some indefinite way witli his 
colored man. Harry, who still survives. Shining in the galaxy 
of that period and shedding his rays down to almost the current 
time, was that elegant gentleman whose mind was stored with 
the lore of our history and with incidents of the politics and 
politicians of the century, and with studies of affairs in all ages 
and in all lands, whose spirit almost seems to hover about this 
house in which we are assembled, Augustine G. Dauby. 

It was a privilege to know even afar off such men as these, 
and to enjoy personal acquaintance, as a young man may with 
his seniors, with some at least of them. If he were not yet an 
ornament in our community, and brilliant in an unfailing 
youth, I would not fail to mention in this list William J. 
Bacon, as early as 1824 an editor of the Sentinel^ and then of 
the Sentinel and Gazette. And although he does not know it, 
until these words reach his ears, to him I am indebted for not a 
little of the inspiration which turned m}^ steps to a training 
for editorial work and for life-service on the press. Now in 
any gathering he would rival most of us in any competition 
which would involve sprightliness and manly vigor, for all 
scholarly accomplishments and social graces. 

With such influences gathered about the press of Utica my 
fingers were taught to handle the types ; and one of my teachers 
in the art preservative of all arts was that venerable gentleman, 
whom you may see at yonder table, William, the Baron De 
Britt, as with mingled affection and respect we learned to style 
him in those far-gone days. Except my brief connection with 
the Eliicidator, my labors on the press may be dated from the 
Democratic Rasp, a campaign paper printed by my brother in 
ISIO, and edited in large part by General Richard U. Sherman, 
on which I set type, and served as the only carrier. In my 
library is treasured a volume presented to me at the close of 
the campaign for fidelity in the duties entrusted to me. 

All of the dailies which Utica has ever possessed have had 
their birth since I became connected with printing here, and 
over the graves of those which have passed away, and their 



iy6 First Supper, of the 

name is legion, the mourners have gone in and out within my 
sight. 

It is not ni}' purpose to adopt Walt Whitman's verse : 

" I celebrate myself and sing myself, 
And what I assume you shall assume, 
For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you." 

For I am impressed as I recall the days which have rolled 
away, of the admirable men who have shed honor on the press 
of our city, every one a gentleman, pure, worthy, useful and 
generous-hearted. Yet the connection which it has been mj^ 
good fortune to enjoy with those who in turn carry the history 
of our press to its beginning, is the burden of my thoughts to- 
night. Who will say that half a century hence any one will 
have as much occasion to boast of the men who are in the fore- 
front to-day? We are celebrating the anniversary of our city, 
and joy and hilarity become the occasion. But reminiscences 
always have a sad side to them. I could recall those who have 
been our companions and have joined the silent majority. Their 
services and character justify me in saying here, not for the 
men of to-day, but for those who are no longer among us, that 
the press of Utica has in all times been worthy of the intelh- 
gent and progressive population whom it has addressed, and has 
produced characters who have honored their home and their 
vocation. I speak not only for those who have wielded the 
pen, but for those no less worthy who have from the case and 
the press gone forth to wider and more influential careers, and 
have adorned scholarship and religion in other continents and 
conferred lasting blessings on those who have come within the 
sphere of their influence. 

But I fear I am taking advantage of the privilege of an old 
man, and growing garrulous, although neither you nor I, Mr. 
Chairman, feel a day older than when we used to play mumble 
the peg, down in Cooper s woods in intervals of swimming, and 
whenever a circus came to town, tried to rival the acrobats in 
throwing handsprings and risking somersaults wherever we 
could find a haymow or a soft bit of ground. So I commend 
you again to Walt Whitman, with his boast, fitting doubtless 
for the master of ceremonies in a celebration like this : 

" I loafe and invite my soul." 

At the symposium, last night, the Chairman said, Mr. Burt 
was fortunately interrupted by the Procrustean hammer of 
Judge Bacon, enforcing the ten-minute rule, or he might have 
convinced his hearers of the commercial supremacy of Oswego, 
a harbor on Lake Ontario, over Utica, which is a port of entry 
on the Erie canal. Perhaps the Hon. W. B. Camp, a descend- 
ant of one of the old Utica families, may excite our envy, and 



Half Century Chtb. lyy 

possibly our patriotic incredulity, by dilating upon tlie merits 
of Sacketts Harbor. 



Mr. Camp said : 

After the complimentar}' introduction, and the liberty gratu- 
itousl}^ accorded rne by your distinguished Chairman, I feel 
justified in speaking a word in honor of the village of my adop- 
tion. 

No detractions of Utica are in order, or possible. Strained 
comparisons here would be odious. This feast would cease to 
be appetizing if the spicy reminiscences of her victories were 
not added to give flavor — as it does cloyless satisfaction — to 
our enjoyment. Names mentioned here come to me like the 
sweet influences of an opening season, after a long winter — an 
odor ever fresh and pure. They carry me back to childhood 
hours, when the nursery tale presented some one of them as a 
model for emulation ; or a tuneful melody, with song or hymn 
to bless a night's repose, brought a worthy exemplar to mind 
and heart. I am not alone ; Utica's impress is diffused in dis- 
tinctive strain of generous blood over our own and distant 
lands. Her sons to-night, everywhere, are happy in their 
mother's arms. 

For Sacketts Harbor I will say, you and the world at large 
are indebted to her for the discovery of chloroform, and no one 
agent has been so potent as a mitigator of human suffering. In 
1831, Dr. Samuel Guthrie reported his discovery, as you find 
by reference to Silliman's Journal, and the U. S. Dispensatory, 
Soubeirin and Liebig are accredited as discoverers also, in lb83 ; 
but our distinguished townsman, — we proudly claim him, — is 
entitled to full and first recognition above the eminent names 
mentioned Strange it seems, no fitting monument commemo- 
rates the event, or that a should-be grateful people have for- 
gotten the man. 

Dr. Guthrie is also entitled to distinction as the inventor of 
percussion powder, and the lock for the explosion of firearms. 
While we were indifferent to its adoption, France took the 
hint, and sent to this country three barrels of metallic caps for 
him to charge, rightly thinking a tube to hold a cap in some 
respects preferable to the exposed chamber, for the "punch" 
and pellet of powder. To repay them for their appreciation of 
his invention, he not only gave them the formula for making 
his powder, but described a method by which to load the caps. 
The effect of this last invention has been to change the whole 
manner and mode of warfare among civilized nations, and gives 
the sportsman a perfected weapon to pursue the enjoyments of 
the field. Cast your sight back to the days of fuse and flint, 
M 



lyS First Supper of the 

and see bow insignificant and uncertain were the then superior 
engines of aggression and defence. 

Suspended from my wall, a cherished relic, hangs the old 
ancestral fowling gun — a rare piece of workmanship, with orna- 
ments of silver, ivory and brass of manifold windings. With 
tliis our venerated grand-parent often sought some favorite 
spot on the Mohawk in pursuit of game, and to relieve himself 
from the onerous duties of ofhce. When the pigeon came with 
the green leaf, and the wild fowl with the russet, there was no 
place like Genesee street bridge to fill a hunter's bag. This, 
too, couki be accomplished without derangement of his accus- 
tomed dress, in ruftled shirt, knee breeches, and silver-buckle 
shoe If any gentlemen present doubt the bridge a good 
place for ducks, I advise them to seek the old haunt while now 
the morning hour approaches, " lay low," and await results. 

Archteologists and ethnologists place man in successive steps 
among the ages, formulating them, — old stone, new stone, 
bronze and iron ages. It gives me pleasure to night to add 
two more to the list, and shall call them flint-lock and cap-lock. 
Last night we celebrated the former; to-night the cap, — both 
loyally and royally. 

The firm of Puck and Morse girdle the earth to-night with 
messages greeting our friends who would gladly participate in 
our festive celebration. Before morning the telephone may be 
perfected, allowing us to say to them, audibly, as we close this 
happy and long-to-be-remembered occasion : "Good day to you 
— good by to you !" 

With this sentiment I leave you : May the virtues of the 
flint lock age be engrafted on the cap ; if calamities or trials 
assail us, individually or as a nation, may we imitate their cour- 
age, "peck flint and tr\' again." 

The Chairman said that Mr. Camp had forcibly advanced the 
claim of Sacketts Harbor to two inventions, one of which 
accelerates the infliction of pain, and the other alleviates it, 
but, deterred no doubt by his warning, no allusion had been 
made to trade and commerce and its necessary adjunct, bank- 
ing, without which it would be impossible to conduct business 
of modern magnitude ; banks being the adjusters and regula- 
tors of values in business. The reputation of Utica in this 
connection was well established on a sound basis. He desired 
to preface the next toast with an anecdote. 

Some forty or fift}' years ago, his father, the late M. McQuade, 
was collector of the city taxes. It might be remarked paren- 
thetically, as evidence of the simplicity of the times, that it 
was his habit to place all the moneys received after banking 



HaTf Century Club. ryg 

hours in the drawer of a wooclen desk in Piatt & Pease's ware- 
house, at the Catharine streep shp, for safe keeping during the 
night. Some legal question had arisen regarding the validity 
of an assessment upon the Bank of Utica, and when the col- 
lector called to receive the tax, payment was refused by the 
cashier, Mr. Welles. The collector informed the cashier that 
he would be compelled by the instruction of his warrant to 
levy on sufficient personal jjroperty to satisfy the tax, and, as 
the most convenient form of personal property was the " porta- 
ble," he would levy on cash. In order to evade the seizure, 
the cashier caused all the money to be placed in the vault and 
locked the door. Mr, McQuade made a formal demand for 
access to the vault, in the discharge of his duty to distrain, and 
being refused, left the office, saying that he would return with 
a key. Shortly afterwards he reappeared, accompanied by the 
late Harry Bushnell, armed with sledges, chisels and the formi- 
dable tools of his trade. The cashier was informed that unless 
the tax was paid, forcible entry would be effected, and a levy 
made on the cash ; whereupon, after sundry negotiations, the 
cashier surrendered at discretion to the collector and payment 
was satisfactorily arranged. 

This was the first attempt made by Mr. McQuade to break a 
bank literally, although he made many indirect essays in the 
same direction by indiscriminate and injudicious endorsement 
of promissory notes. The late Briggs W. Thomas, for a long 
time notary public of the Oneida Bank, used to say, occasion- 
ally, " this is one of my off days ; I have no notice of protest 
to serve on Michael McQuade." 

Having thus referred to an effort to break a bank, the Chair- 
man would call upon a gentleman who has aided, by long- 
continued, capable service (making him the senior bank officer 
of Utica) to build up the staunch financial institutions of the 
city. He asked Mr. Robert S. Williams to respond for the 
bankers. 

Mr. Williams said : 

When the early settlers of that beautiful valley first saw the 
Sauquoit creek, wasting all its energies madly bounding over 
its rocky bed, fed as it was by the innumerable small streams 
and rivulets flowing down from every hillside, not one of which 
alone possessed any special power, they at once foresaw that the 



i8o First Supper of the 

waters of tliis stream possess a reserve force when aggregated 
and applied by the use of proper dams, which would make that 
valley a garden of industry and enterprise, cheered by the hum 
of wheels, spindles, and forges that would give to their suc- 
cessors a wealth of prosperity which would insure them a good 
name abroad and a paradise of beauty at home. So the 
founders of the bankirjg institutions of this city, by gathering 
up the small surplus savings from the early comers to the place, 
soon gained sums sufficient to form the capital of the Bank of 
Utica, which was chartered in 1812, of which institution the 
present First National Bank is the lineal descendant. This 
was in due time followed by organization of the Ontario Branch 
Bank, in 1815, and in 1836 the Oneida Bank, which was the 
last bank ever chartered by the legislature of the State of New 
York. And from these small begin nmgs of aggregated 
capital have gradually grown some of the most substantial as 
well as the most prosperous financial institutions of the State 
and the country ; and to whose kindly aid is due the success 
of man}^ business and manufacturing enterprises which have 
their home in Central New York and of which we are so justly 
proud. 

But I will not take up your time, Mr. Chairman, with this 
detail, but rather will I refer to the banks of fifty years and 
more ago and their ways of doing business. There were no 
express companies in those days, and the transportation of 
bank notes and coin was a considerable problem, and all sorts 
of methods were resorted to in order to carry money from one 
place to another. I have often heard my step-mother, who was 
the daughter of the late Henry Huntington, for many years 
president of the Bank of Utica, relate this circumstance : She 
was returning to Rome from a visit to New England, and was 
about to take a sloop for Albany, and just before leaving her 
friends in New York, her uncle carelessly threw a small bundle 
in her lap, simply saying " take that to your father from me." 
She put the package in her carpet bag and scarcely thought of 
it again till she reached home nearly two weeks after, (for the 
trip by sloop to Albany and stage to Rome was not then made 
in a day,) when her father asked her, on the evening of her 
arrival, "Did your uncle Havens send anything forme?" She 
produced the package which contained $35,000 in bank notes. 

Another method was to cut the large bills in two pieces and 
send them each piece by a different mail, and when both arrived 
at the proper destination to paste them together again. In 
those days too, " circulation " (which then cost only the printing) 
was the great source of profit to a bank, when deposits were 
usually small ; bank bills were often marked and punched 
with small holes, to test the sincerity of the borrowers to whom 
loans were made on condition of giving '■^ jirsi rate circulation^^ 



Half Century Club. i8i 

to the notes of the lending bank. It may not be known to 
many here that the brick buikling on the south side of Catha- 
rine street, near the canal bridge, was once occupied for bank 
note engraving, and that there were printed the notes for the 
Bank of Utica, Ontario Branch Bank, and many other interior 
banks. I can remember, as a child, seeing these sheets of bank 
notes brought to my father's house, now the residence of 
Merritt Peck ham, and there trimmed before being signed by 
the bank officers and issued for circulation. To contrast the 
methods of fifty years ago with our own, both as to security 
and stability ; we have seen during the past few months the 
erection of the elegant vaults and safes for the First National 
Bank, the cost and safety of which far exceed that of all the 
banks m the place fifty years ago. When the Oneida Bank 
was reorganized as a National bank, in 1S65, I put in a new 
" Herring's safe," and thinking to utilize the old safe for storing 
vouchers and papers, which safe formerly belonged to the Utica 
branch of the old United States Bank, and had been in con- 
stant use for forty years or more, a safe formidable only in ap- 
pearance, thickly studded with huge headed nails and double 
bands of (sheet) iron, I carefully locked the safe door and told 
the porters to swing it around to one side of the vault; the 
two men took good hold of the door handle and pulled with 
all their might ; the massive door flew open and landed both 
men flat on their backs. When I came carefully to examine 
the door I found that the bolts struck against the jamb, and 
that the door of that safe had never been really locked during 
the forty years of its service. We took it out, broke it up, and 
found that this formidable looking safe was made of rotten oak 
plank steeped in muriatic acid and bound with one eighth 
Russia band iron, so that all its safety was in appearances. 

I wish, Mr. Chairman, that your time or my ability would 
admit the proper recital of the personnel of the men of those 
early days, of their character and energies. They were just 
passing off the stage of active business life when I began as 
clerk in one of the banks, thirty years ago. Such names as 
Alfred Munson, a synonym of successful enterprise in every 
avenue of business, for many years president of the Oneida 
Bank, and to whose indomitable energy and activity Utica 
owes much of her manufacturing success ; Charles A. Mann, 
his successor as president, the worthy associate and helper in 
many of his enterprises, a man of rare virtues, the best of 
advisers and the warm friend of every one who needed his aid. 

A little incident comes to my mind connected with Mr. 
Mann, showing how impossible it is for one to get bej^ond 
Utica or Oneida county men. We were traveling in the sum- 
mer of 1859 in the upper Lake Superior region in quest of 
health and recreation. Landing; from a steamboat after mid- 



i82 First Slipper of the 

night, we rode through the lonely woods for nearly an hour, 
when we arrived at the small tavern and roused up "mine 
host." Mr. Mann remarked, " I think we have about reached 
the end of creation ; no one here probably ever heard of 
Utica.'" The landlord finally appeared with his tallow dip and 
we registered our names and requested rooms; the man looked 
at the names and drawled out, " Charles A. Mann, Utica, N. Y. 
Why." said he, looking up, "didn't he marry Moses Bagg's 
daughter? I used to live in Oneida county." Mr. Mann 
laughed, and said, " Its no use, 1 give it up; Oneida county 
men are known everywhere — and the sun never ceases to shine 
upon them." 

Augustine G. Dauby, was from its organization to his death a 
director of the Oneida Bank, a man whose natural politeness 
of manner always won friends, and who.-e cordiality and kind- 
ness towards " bank clerks" made him the model director. My 
time will not admit of more than to n \me Thomas H. Hubbard, 
Samuel Stocking, Bryan Johnson, David Wager, Silas D. 
Childs, a noble man, one who was never known to speak ill of 
any one, Naaman W. Moore, Martin Hart, John Camp, Alex. 
B. Johnson, Bleecker B. Lansing and many others, bat there is 
one man that my affection will not allow me to omit, a man 
that I love to honor with a tribute of my poor praise, for his 
more than twenty years of unbroken, cheerful kindness to me. 
James Sayre was a director in the United States Branch Bank, 
the Ontario, and for over thirty-five years in the Oneida Bank, 
of which he had been the pi'esident for seventeen years at the 
time of his death. With a heart full of sympathy and tender 
as a woman's, he felt \\\?> first duty was to the interest of the 
bank, and for that he earnestly sought; and if ever his sym- 
pathy got the better of his judgment he always erred on the 
right side. By a long life of economy, careful, honest indus- 
try, he amassed a large fortune, but the richest, noblest 
heritage he left to his children, was his spotless reputation and 
his unsullied honor. 

But, Mr. Chairman, I have taken up too much of jova' time. 
I am glad of this celebration and congratulate the founders of 
this Half Century Club — it makes us the connecting link that 
binds the past to the future, it stimulates us all to higher and 
nobler aspirations for good. As we call to mind and admire 
the virtues of the men of fifty years ago, so may we hope to 
emulate their goodness, and hand down to those who shall be 
members of this club fifty years hence, no dishonored heritage of 
worthless work, but profiting by their example, encouraged and 
stimulated by their success, when the Centeimial Anniversary 
of this city charter comes to be celebrated, may our names be 
surrounded by a brighter halo of success, and we then be re- 
membered for the good we have done, while we were upon this 



Half Century Club. i8j 

active stage of life, in endeavoring to malce this lovely city of 
our birth the most desirable spot on earth in which to live, as 
well as to be the most beautiful place on earth in which to die. 

Undoubtedly, said the Chairman, the claim of Boston to be 
regarded as the " hub" was generally acknowledged by the 
ignorant world outside of Utica, but Uticans knew that their 
city was the veritable, only genuine Hub. No argument could 
convince them to the contrary ; still, in a spirit of hospitality, 
an opportunity would be afforded Mr. John C. Hoadley, of 
Boston, formerly a resident of Utica, to advocate the claim of 
bis present home, if he so desired. It was probable, however, 
in view of the manifest futility of any effort to that end, how- 
soever eloquent, that he might be loath to engage in a task of 
which absolute failure might be predicated at the outset. The 
Chairman felt assured that Mr. Hoadley would not make the 
fruitless essay, but would renounce allegiance to Boston and 
return to his first love. 

On revient tovjours a nos premiers amours. 

Mr. Hoadley rose, and without noticing, perhaps 
without having heard, the form of the President's in- 
troduction, spoke as follows : 

3Ir. President and Gentlemen: The hour admonishes me to 
be brief, and I certainly will not detain you long. Our Boston 
poet, the genial Doctor Oliver Wendell Holmes, exclaims in a 
manner to challenge contradiction : 

"0! what are the trophies we perish to win 
To the first little shiner we caught with a pin?" 

If this be true, and who can doubt it? — then the supreme re- 
ward of earthly endeavor came to me under the shadow of 
Whitesboro street bridge, out of the limpid waters of Nail 
creek. Times are changed since then. I don't suppose that 
boys catch shiners in Nail creek now — perhaps there are no 
shiners there — perhaps no boys ! But life, fortunately has other 
prizes. If we can't always go a-fishing — and we can't, certainly, 
always be catching our "first little shiner," — there are other 
rewards, some of them inferior only in that they are not the 
first. One such I recall in the generous, whole-hearted kind- 
ness of Holmes Hutchinson. Tell rae not of common gener- 
osity ! No man ever gave as he gave. He gave more than all 
that he had, he gave all that he was, — he gave his friendship, 



i8^ First Supper of the 

— he gave himself ! It was one of life's best prizes that he 
patted me on the shoulder, a boy of fifteen, me, a stranger, 
with no claim to his notice, asked my name, gained my heart 
by his cheerful smile and his pleasant words, took me into his 
house, — into his library, — offered me books to read, and told 
me to come as often as I liked to bring them back and get 
others. He left the choice to me. He didn't say : "Here, 
now, is a good book, read it, 't will do j^ou a'ood ; and when 
3^ou have read it, bring it back and T will give 3'ou another." 
Had he said this, or something like it, I dare say I should not 
have read his books, and I am certain they would have done 
me little good if I had read them. No; he said : ''Take what 
you like, read it if you like it, and bring it back and get more." 
And I did. About once a week I washed myself very clean, 
dressed mj^self carefullj^ in my best clothes, and went to his 
pleasant house on Chancellor square, where I was always ad- 
mitted at once to the library and left there by myself, returned 
the book I had brought back, uninjured, to its place, and after 
rummaging for half an hour or more took away another. I 
used to read the Penn}'- Magazine ; and long years afterward, 
wdien, as I was climbing a short, broad flight of stone steps at 
the British Museum, a liveried attendant approached me with 
the bow and smile which I had learned to interpret as the lively 
expectation of a shilling, and said: — "If you please, sir, the 
Portland vase is in a private room, just here. It is not com- 
monl}' shown, but intelligent gentlemen like yourself are much 
interested in it, and are quite welcome to examine it." I re- 
called at once the account of the Portland vase which I had 
read in the Penny Magazine : how it was found as fresh as if 
just fresh from the artist's hands in a tomb in Etruria, how it 
was bought b}- the Duke of Portland for £1500, and deposited 
in the British Museum ; how a madman dashed it upon the 
marble floor and shattered it into thousands of fragments ; how 
its pieces were carefully gathered up, sorted out under a micro- 
scope, spread out on a sheet of paper, drawn and engi-aved, and 
then all put together again so that it shows traces of the disas- 
ter only on close inspection; and how it has since been kept 
locked up from public view. All this came back to me in an 
instant, and as I looked with curiosity and interest at this 
beautiful relic of a remote antiquity, I blessed the memory of 
Holmes Hutchinson for his Penny Magazine. Again, beneath 
the same roof, when I came across the famed Rosetta Stone, I 
remembered that its tri-lingual inscription, in archaic Greek, in 
Coptic and in sacred hieroglyphics, had proved a key to un- 
lock the mysterious inscriptions on the tombs and temples of 
Egypt, closed for four thousand years; and when I recalled 
the description of this stone in the Penn}^ Magazine, I once 
more blessed the memorv of Holmes Hutchinson. And I read 



Half Cenhiry Chib. i8^ 

many other books from his Ubrary, and no reading of my life 
has been more profitable or better remembered. 

Well, the time came when he said to me one day : — "Hoad- 
ley, you'd better go to school this winter." Now I didn't like 
to ask my over-burdened father, with seven children, of wdiom 
I was the oldest, — and all the rest girls, — for time and money, 
too ; so on getting joyful permission to go if I would pay my 
own tuition, 1 made a bargain with the officials of the IJtica 
Academy to supply them with some much needed black-boards 
for a term's tuition. I made the black-boards — and I trust 
they were good, honest black-boards— and attended the winter 
term of 1835-6 at the Utica Academy, under Professor Pren- 
tice, whom I learned to love very much, and his assistant, Wil- 
liam W. Williams, than whom no better teacher in his favorite 
branches of the mathematics ever lived ; — and pursued a spe- 
cial course of study, embracing algebra, geometry, surveying, 
and a little Latin. Mr. Hutchinson continued to encourage me 
with his friendly interest, and to ask me to come and see him ; 
and one morning in the spring — and it was the first day of 
May 1836, — as I was about to enter his office in Bleecker street, 
just as he, with others, was comiing out, he placed a tape-line 
in my hand and said : — "Come, young man, come with us !" 
And this was the beginning of nine years constant occupation, 
and the decisive event as to my whole course of life. 

And there were other prizes, — the stimulating and encour- 
aging words of many men and many noble women, whose 
memory is dear to me. 

One among many, I will mention, — General Spinner. Fran- 
cis E. Spinner, best known in those days as Frank Spinner, 
was one of several sons of the venerable Dominie Spinner, of 
Herkimer, whom I well remember, with his flowing, silvery 
locks and beard, at a time when full white beards were less 
common than I see them around me now. He was said to be 
a ripe classical scholar, but so little confidence had he in schol- 
arship as an aid to a useful and happy life, that he denied it to 
his sons, and brought them up to be plain farmers. But Frank 
Spinner was not contented with this out-look. He descried a 
larger horizon and sought for wider fields of usefulness. Mr. 
Clarke, the father of your eloquent and honored guest, had 
drawn a plan, or set of plans of a lunatic hos])ital to be built at 
Utica, his plans had been approved by the Governor, and the 
work had been begun under his supervision as the acting mem- 
ber of a Board of Commissioners ; and I had been detailed by 
the Chief Engineer, with the consent of the Canal Commis- 
sioner, as by statute provided, to furnish all needful engineering 
assistance, surveying, leveling, measuring quantities of excava- 
tion and brick and stone masonry, and instrumental work of 
all kinds ; and when, a little later, a new Board of Commis- 



1 86 Fh'st Sapper of the 

sioners was appointed, and Mr, Spinner became the acting 
Commissioner, I, continuing to do the same duties as before, 
became very well acquainted with him, and formed for him a 
friendship which I have delighted to keep up. We were both 
young, — he a little the older, it is true, — but as there is equality 
among gentlemen, so between those who can still claim the 
glorious heritage of youth, there is equality of youthfulness 
despite some disparity of years ; and w^e loved to confide to 
each other our plans, our hopes, our expectations. We were 
soon widely separated, and met but rarely, but I always loved, 
when in Washington during his long residence there, to call on 
him and revive old and pleasant associations. 

And there were others — but I fear I have already gone to 
the extreme limit of my promise on rising, and perhaps already 
tasked your patience, and close with the assurance that all my 
memories of Utica are pleasant memories, and that not among 
the least agreeable or the least enduring, will be the memory 
of your kindness and courtesy. • 



THE OFFICERS. 

Here the proceedings were interrupted for the pur- 
pose of electing officers of the Half Century Club, as 
provided at the meeting of February 25, 1882. 

The following named gentlemen were duly elected : 

President — Colonel Eobert BasfSf. 

Vice Presidents — John G. Brown, Chas. H. Sayre, General 
James McQuade. 

Secretary and Treasurer — Eugene Stearns. 

Executive Committee — Benjamin Allen, B. F. Davies, Isaac 
Whiffen, N. A. White, John F. Seymour, Harvey Barnard, 
W. B. Taylor. 

Historical Committee. — Alex. Seward, DeWitt C. Grove, 
Ellis H. Eoberts, Erastus Clark, K. U. Sherman, M. M. Bagg, 
T. R McQuade. 

Prof. A. McMillan, Superintendent of Public 
Schools, being called upon to speak in behalf of the 
institutions entrusted to his wise and faithful guidance, 
discoursed as follows : 



Half Century Club. i8j 

Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen: — I feel it an honor to be 
called upon to respond to the sentiment " Oar Public Schools," 
yet at this late hour you will hardly expect ine to make any 
extended remarks. I will simply give a few statistics, enough 
for a general comparison of the schools of the city as they ex- 
isted tifty years ago \vith the schools of to-day. Fifty years 
ago there was only one common school in Utica. This school 
was established in 1816, the village of Utica being at that time 
a part of Whitestown ; the school house was located in Cath- 
arine street at the head of Franklin street. The teachers were 
Eliasaph Dorchester, principal, and Susan Wright assistant. In 
1831, a school district was established in the eastern part of the 
city, the house to be located at the corner of Minden and East 
streets, but the school was not opened for the reception of pupils 
until the winter term of 1832. Hence there was, as before 
stated, but one public school in operation fifty years ago to- 
night. The number of common schools continued to increase 
as the population of the city increased, under the old school dis- 
trict system, until 18-12, when an act was passed by the Legisla- 
ture placing the schools of the city under the control of a 
Board of School Commissioners. This system has been in ex- 
istence since that date. The names of the first Commissioners 
elected under this act were Rudolph Snyder, Spencer Kellogg, 
Hiram Denio, Robert T. Hallock, Francis Kernan and James 
Watson Williams. 

At this date the number of schools had increased to twelve. 
Many of these, however, were infant schools, conducted in 
rented rooms, there being only two school houses owned en- 
tirely by the city — one located in Columbia street and the 
other corner of Bridge and Bleecker streets. To show that the 
school officers of that date were not extravagant in the matter 
of school furniture I will give a verbatim statement of personal 
property belonging to the city in one of the schools as found in 
the first inventory taken by the newly-elected School Commis- 
sioners, in 1843 : 

1 stove and pipe % 3 00 

4 school desks, 8s 4 00 

1 table 3s., one chair Is 50 

5 National readers 4d ....... . . 20 

1 blackboard 12?., 2 brooms, 8d 1 66 

1 pail Is. 6d., 1 cup 6d 25 

1 pair shovel and tongs 6s 75 

6 Emerson's arithmetics 6d. , 6 testaments 6d 72 

Total $1 1 08 

The total amount of all school property owned by the city in 
1843 was $3,169.50. The amount now is $708,570.82. The 
number of pupils enrolled in 1832 was 2C0 ; in 1843, l.lUO ; 
and in 1882, 5,318. The amount of money received from the 



i8S First Slipper of the 

State the past year for the support of our schools was $20,587.57 
as against $689.88 in 1S32. 

Had I time I might give a detailed statement of the yearly 
growth of our excellent sj^stem of public schools. Enough has 
been stated, however, to show that this important factor in the 
growth and prosperity of our city has kept well abreast with 
the other institutions that have done so much towards giving 
Utica the high standing she has taken among the cities of the 
country, for the enterprise, culture and refinement of her citi- 
zens. 

While I am not "to the manor boi-n," yet as an adopted citi- 
zen I feel pro ad of the good name Utica now bears in regard to 
the moral and intellectual culture of her citizens. 

Twenty-five years ago I came to this city a stranger and the 
hoys of the Advanced School " took me in," and we have lived 
together in harmony during a quarter of a century, ever striv- 
ing for our mutual benefit and for the welfare and advance- 
ment of all enterprises that wouM tend to the prosperity of our 
beautiful city. 

While listening, as I have with pleasure during, the past 
twenty-four hours to the laudation of the fifty-year-old boys, I 
cannot refrain from giving the boys of to-day credit for possess- 
ing quite as much talent and culture. In fact we claim that 
the boys of to-day are and ought to be, with the higher privi- 
leges they have, far superior to the boys of fifty years ago, in 
all those acquirements that fit them for making not only their 
native city, but the world at large, the better for their having 
lived in it. We have only to look around us and we will find 
young men, late graduates from our public schools, holding 
prominent positions in all departments of industry — busy all — 
in the workshop, in literature, in the professions ; ever active, 
working their way to eminence, often against strong competi- 
tion, yet with a preparation for their work and a will that war- 
rant success. 

While a few isolated cases of marked success have been men- 
tioned among those who were educated fifty years ago, a much 
larger number of the boys of to-day can point with equal pride 
to their attainments in all departments of life, and yet you must 
remember we are still in our infancy compared with the fifty 
year-old gentlemen I see before me. 

Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, we cordially invite you to 
meet with us at this same Bagg's Tavern fifty years from to- 
night, and we will astonish you with the wonderful stories we 
shall be sure to relate, concerning the transactions of our half- 
century of endeavor and achievement. 

The Chairman called upon Hon. A. T. Goodwin to speak to 
any topic that might suggest itself, the regular list of toasts 



Half Century Club. i8g 

being exhausted. Mr. Goodwin would be allowed the largest 
liberty incident to the late hour, conipatible with the gravity of 
the occasion and a strict construction of the Constitution. Al- 
though not a native of Utica, and, unfortunately, some years 
behind the venerable stage of the semi-centenarian, which 
would render him eligible to membership in the Half -Century 
Club, he was free of the guild by adoption, as a member of the 
family of the late David Wager, first Cit}^ Attorney. The 
Chairman had not suggested a toast for Mr. Goodwin's response, 
as his ready eloquence could not fail to adorn any subject 
which he might be pleased to select. 

Mr. Goodwin spoke, as follows : 

Mr. Chairman: — The hour is late. Already the clock has 
struck two, and still we linger, talking of playmates and com- 
panions ; of the days of childhood, and of the old familiar pla- 
ces and faces, nearly all of which are gone. To me, sir, the 
symposium of last evening, and this gathering of Utica's boys 
of fifty years ago, have been events of the deepest interest and 
delight ; and why I have been honored by a place at either 
festival, cannot well be explained, unless it be that adopted sons 
have favors bestowed which rightfully belong to more deserv- 
ing members of the family. Much has been said, — too much 
cannot be said, — of the beauty of our city, its growth in wealth, 
intelligence and refinement ; of her sons, distinguished in the 
professions, in art, science, politics, and in all manufacturing 
and industrial pursuits. We are justly proud of their names, 
and of their deeds, and of their influence in the development 
and growth of a commonwealth which has become the Empire 
State of our grand Union. To sound their praises, is not my 
privilege to-night. That has already been done eloquently 
and well by the distinguished gentlemen who have had that 
duty in chai'ge. Nor will I trespass by speaking of the benev- 
olence of our women, to whose perseverance, zeal, self-denial 
and faith, we owe our noble charities "that soothe and heal 
and bless" so many of the unfortunate in our midst. 

I desire, Mr. Chairman, to speak only a word for the hospi- 
talities of the citizens of Utica, and to remind her sons, that 
among all the precious jewels which adorn her crown, there are 
none more beautiful and durable. 

I speak, sir, to-night, for thousands who have shared that 
hospitality. I speak for those who have come among you as 
strancjers, and have been received as friends and brothers. I 
proclaim to those who are coming among you, that here in 



I go First Slipper of the 

Utica they will receive encouragement and kindness, and will 
soon learn to know that here^ we " w^eigh the man, not his title ; 
'tis not the king's stamp can make the metal better." It has 
been so from the beginning. Dr. Bagg tells us in his " Pioneers 
of Utica," that the manufacture of silver spoons was among the 
first of our industries, — in order, doubtless, that we might the 
more acceptably entertain the numerous and distinguished vis- 
itors who so frequently came among us. 

That old silver goblet, Mr. Chairman, which stands before 
you, and from wdiich I have just quaffed the famous "Moun- 
tain Dew," reminds me and others here, of the good cheer and 
hospitality of its original owner, — your own revered father. 
The women of Utica, whose strong good sense has done so 
much to develop and strengthen the characteristics which have 
distinguished so many of your citizens, have ever and always 
been hospitable. Their graces and their virtues, as brilliant as 
their beauty, have shed a lustre over your homes which refines 
and purifies, as well as attracts, all brought under its influence. 
And now, my friends, those of us who were not born here, but 
had the good sense to come here, how are we to pay the debt 
■we owe to Utica? Shall our Chairman, when he presides, as 
we hope he may, at the Centennial Anniversar}- of the Half- 
Century Club, be obliged to exclaim: 

"Pair Utica! sad relic of departed worth! 
Immortal, though no more, though fallen, great!" 

Shall it be said of us, that 

" We carved not a line and we raised not a stone," 

Or shall we, by emulating the examples of the founders of Utica, 
extend her borders, promote her growth and prosperity, preserve 
her high moral, intellectual and social character, so that our 
children may say of us, as we now say of those who have com- 
mitted the fair heritage to our keeping, " We bless 3'OU all, for 
what you have done for Utica "? 

Mr. C. S. Symonds, who was called upon by the Chairman 
as the gentleman present most familiar with the subject, his 
varied experience having embraced a wide range of objects, re- 
sponded briefly for the ladies, the lateness of the hour preclud- 
ing an extended treatment of the transcendent merits of the 
case. 

The festivities thereafter assumed an informal char- 
acter, and the symposium was prolonged until a late 



Half Century Club. igi 

hour by a number of good companions. Colonel J. 
Stewart Lowery recited with thrillino; effect the trials 
and tribulations of the poor "Irish Emigrant Boy." 
Songs w^ere sung by Mr. John D. Kernan, the veteran 
Sergeant Albert Spencer, of the Utica Citizens' Corps, 
Dr. C. B. Foster and Eugene Stearns. Ex-Mayors 
T. F. Butterfield and C. E. Barnard related amusing 
anecdotes of their early contemporaries, Geo. Martell, 
John Post, Jeremiah A"an Rensselaer, and others. 
Captain Horace W. Fowler made a witty speech ; and 
Col. T. M. Davies, W. M. Storrs, Moses Bailey, Ed- 
ward Sturges, W. Jerome Green and M. B, DeLong, 
interjected pungent remarks. It was a feast worthy 
of the olden time. 

As a fitting conclusion of the symposium. General 
McOuade sang Moore's beautiful ballad : 

"Farewell ! but whenever you welcome the hour 
That awakens the night-song of mirth in your bower, 
Then think on the friend who once welcomed it too, 
And forgot his own griefs to be happ)' with you." 

Thus joyously Utica entered the threshold of the 
Second Half Century. 



The Old Families. 



The following, whose names appear in the Directory 
of 1832, are still residents of Utica : 



^ 



Adams L^'inan, 
Bacon William J., 
Barnes Abram A., 
Bailey Moses, 
Ballou Theodore P., 
Bates John W., 
Benton James, 
Butler T. K., 
Carpenter Clark, 
Cassid)' Patrick, 
Comstock Roderick J., 
Crocker John G., 
Curtis George, 
Dagwell John, 
Douglass Dr. Isaac H., 
*DeLong James C, 
Dickinson Morris G., 
Estes Isaac, 
Foster James S., 
J, Grannis T. C, 
Griffiths John, 
Hecox George, 
Henry William, 
Higgs Thomas, 



Hopper Thomas, 
Horton Thomas, 
Hull David, 
Hunt Ward. 
Hurlburt Burton D., 
James Joseph, 
James William, 
Jewett B. F., 
Jones Ebenezer, 
John John, 
Latimore John, 
Lawrence Lewis, 
Lewis David, 
Lewis Reese, 
Loucks R. N., , 

LyonZiba,^ /6^ 
*Marchisi John B , 
Matteson O. B., 
McQuivey Solomon, 
Miller Henry T., 
Newell Norman C, 
Newland Thomas J., 
O'Hara John, 
Osburn Henry W., 



i?^ 



Owens Thomas M., 

Palmer Chauncey, 

Penny Grove, — P / » 

Perkins Thomas P., 

Porter John W., 

Rich James, 

Richards Owen, 

Roberts Henry, 

Robinson Alexander, 

Rockwell James, 

Rodgers Junius, 

Sammons Benjamin, 

Schwab David, 

Seymour Horatio, 

Shadrach Daniel, 

Shearman Joseph A., f^^i 

Spencer Albert, i£ I '^OH 

Swartwout Rugene.' 

Thomas George, 

Wells Dr. L. B., 

White Isaac. , .^y 

Wilson Charles S., *P / O 6 7 

Williams John D., 

Williams Rowland. 



*Recorded also in the Directory for 1S17. 



ig-j. List of Residents of i8j2 nozv Deceased. 



The following is a list of residents of Utica in 1832, 
now deceased, whose posterity reside here : 



Abbej' Stephen, 
Adams Charles. 
Adams John, 
Allen James, 
Allen Job. 
Arnott Benjamin, 
Bacon Ezekiel, 
Baker John K.. 
Bagg Moses, 
Bailej- John, 
Bailey Robert, 
Baldwin Ebenezer, 
Ballou Levi, 
Ballou Peter P.. 
Ballou Phiio C, 
Barber William, 
Barnard Harvey, 
Barnum Charles, 
Barnum Ezra S., 
Barnum Levi, 
Beardsley Samuel, 
Beattie Henry, 
Bedbur)' Joseph, 
Bellinger John, 
Bigg William, 
Blakeman Moses, 
Bloodgood Lynott, 
Boice Philip H., 
Bogart Thomas S., 
Bond Isaac, 
Bowen Jerome, 
Bradish John, 
Brand William, 
Bright Edward, 
Britt Nathan, 
Broad well Ara, 
Brooks B. P., 
Brown Abram, 
Brown John, 
Butterfield John, 
Camp John, 
Carpenter Clark, 



Carton John, 
Carver Frank, 
Case William P.. 
Chase Ira, 
Christian George, 
Christian Nathan, 
Christian Thomas, 
Church Joshua M., 
Churchill Alfred, 
Clark Chester D., 
Clark Erastus, 
Clark William, 
Cleghorn Charles, 
Cole Andrew, 
Cole Barnard. 
Colling Thomas, 
Corbally Patrick, 
Corey Francis D., 
Costleman Jacob. 
Coventry Dr. C. B., 
Crocker Hugh, 
Crocker James, 
Cronin David, 
Crumley James, 
Culver Abram, 
Cummins Jason, 
Curran Edward, 
Curry John C, 
Curtiss Ezekiel. 
Curtiss Philo C, 
Dana James, 
Dana George S.. 
Darling Cook, 
Davis Evan L, 
Davies Griffith, 
Davies Thomas, 
Dempsey James, 
Denio Hiram. 
Dennison Abisha, 
Devereux Nicholas. 
Dickinson George L., 
Dobbie Thomas, 



Dobson William N., 
Donaldson David. 
Doolittle Charles R., 
Dorchester Eliasaph, 
Dowd Lawrence, 
Downer Norman, 
Dudley Richard H., 
Dutton George, 
Edmonds J. H., 
Edwards John. 
Edwards Robert, 
Ellis Evan, 
Evans Griffith J.. 
Evans Jonathan, 
Eversen Adam, 
Fairbanks Isaac N.. 
Farnon John. 
Farwell Samuel, 
Fisher Frederick. 
Foster Gilbert A., 
Foster George D., 

Fowler W. T., 

Francis John J., 
Frear John I , 
Frederic Henry, 
Garrett James, 
Gardner Morgan, 
Gay Samuel, 

Gilbert E. M.. 
Goodliff Joseph, 

Grannis Cyrus, 

Green Henr}% 

Greenman Hiram. 

Griffith Rev. David. 

Griffith Evan, 

Griffith Owen, 

Grosvenor F. D., 

Grove John, 

Hackett William, 

Haley James. 

Handy John H.. 

Harrington William. 



List of Residents of i8j2 now Deceased, igs 



Hart A. C, 
Hart Ephraim, 
Hart George W., 
Hart H. R., 
Harter Joseph, 
Herrick Edward, 
Hopper James, 
Hoyt David P.. 
Hubbard G. W, 
Hubbard T. H., 
Hubbell Alrick, 
Hughes Richard, 
Hunt Montgomery, 
Hurlburt Kellogg, 
Hutchinson Andrew, 
Hutchinson Holmes, 
Irons Reuben, 
Isham John W., 
James David, 
James Thomas, 
Jarrett William, 
Jennison Henry, 
Johnson A. B., 
Jones Lewis, 
Jones Richard T,, 
Jones Robert, 
Jones Rowland, 
Jones Thomas, 
Keating Barnard, 
Keeling James H., 
Kellogg Spencer, 
Kirkland Joseph, 
Kittle John P., 
Kitts Adam, 
Knowlson T. C. B., 
Lane Walter, 
LaPaugh C. N., 
Lathrop A. J., 
Latimer Robert S., 
Lawson George, 
Leach Ebenezer, 
Ledlie George F., 
Leonard James, 
Litle John, 
Lombard Royal, 
Lumbard Theophilus, 
Magee John, 
Maine Dr. Z. P., 
Mann Charles A., 
McCoy Baker, 



McElwaine John, 
McVey TuUy, 
McNall John, 
McOuade Michael, 
McOuade Thomas, 
Marcy Stephen, 
Marshall Richard, 
Martin Henry, 
Mason Harvey, 
Meeker Moses T., 
Merrell Bildad, 
Merrell B. S., 
Midlam Francis, 
Miller Jabez, 
Miller William G., 
Miller Rutger B., 
Mooney Thomas, 
Moore Leonard, 
Morrin Edward, 
Morris David E., 
Mortley John, 
Munn John, 
Munson Alfred, 
Neejer George, 
Newell Jesse, 
Newland John, 
Newland Dr. P., 
Nightingale William, 
Norris Edward, 
Norton Dr. Heman, 
O'Neil Owen, 
Osborn John, 
Owens David, 
Owens Owen, 
Owen Thomas, 
Palmer Stafford, 
Parker Job, 
Pease John, 
Peckham John S., 
Perkins David, 
Perrj' David, 
Perry Richard, 
Phelps Chauncey, 
Pollard Richard, 
Pomeroy Dr. Theo., 
Pond Andrew S., 
Pond H. C. 
Potter Thomas G., 
Potter William P., 
Prentice David, 



Purcell William, 

Oueal John, 

Ouin Hugh, 

Reed David, 

Reed John, 

Rees William, 

Richards William, 

Riley John, 

Roberts Evan, 

Roberts John, 

Roberts Hugh, 

Roberts Robert W., 

Roberts Watkin J., 
Rockwell Philo, 

Rockwell Thomas, 
Roper William, 

Rose Elias, 
Rose Hiram, 
Russ John A., 
Saumet Dennis, 
Sayre James, 
Scranton Lyman, 
Schwab John, 
Seward Asahel, 
Sexton Michael, 
Seymour Henry, 
Shearman E. B., 
Smith Nicholas, 
Snyder Jacob, 
Snyder Rudolph, 
Spencer Norman, 
Spencer Julius A. 
Spurr Elisha, 
Stearns Calvin, 
Stearns Cordis, 
Stevens Nathan, 
Stevens William, 
Stocking James M., 
Stocking Samuel, 
Stone James, 
Storrs Charles, 
Storrs Shubael, 
Supple William, 
Swartwout Cornelius, 
Timerman D., 
Timon James, 
Thoman Anson, 
Thomas Daniel, 
Thomas Levi, 
Thorn Steven, 



ig6 List of Residents of iSj2 7ioijc Deceased. 



Tremble)' Jonathan, 
Tunbridge John, 
Vanderheyden Jacob, 
Van Size Tunis, 
Vedder N. F., 
Vinn Thomas, 
Wade Anson, 
Wager David, 
Walker Thomas, 
Warner J. E., 
Weaver N. N., 



Wetmore E. A., 
Wetmore Oliver, 
Wheeler John, 
Whiffen John, 
Whipple Otis, 
White Alvin, 
White Noah, 
Wilcox Erastus, 
Wilcox Morris, 
Williams Rev. Abram, 
Williams Elhanan W., 



Williams John, 
Williams Nathan, 
Williams Stalham, 
Williams William, 
Williams J. Watson, 
Wood David, 
Woodward Solomon, 
Wratten Jacob, 
Wright Josiah, 
Yates A. P. 



LIBRfiRY OF CONGRESS 



014 109 646 1 (i 



